That old French Magic
by theflyinfoote
Summary: Upon arriving home after second year, Harry finds the Dursleys have moved away and the Grangers offer to take him in. When they find out the truth about the kids time at Hogwarts, they convince them it would be better to attend another school until they are again drawn back for a dangerous tournament.
1. Abandoned

A/N Welcome to a story I've had running around in my head since I started writing FF. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy the story. Like always, I make no money doing this and JK owns everything but my OCs.

Ch. 1 Abandoned

Hermione pushed her trunk laden trolley in front of her as she made her way to the barrier back to the muggle side of King's Cross Station, her best friend Harry Potter beside her with his own trolley. Hermione's feelings were warring inside of her, and she couldn't decide what to feel as she made her way to the normal world. On the one hand, she was glad that it was summer and she would be able to see her parents again. She had missed them greatly during the Christmas Break, but she had needed to stay at Hogwarts to help Harry and Ron with the polyjuice plan. In her weekly letters home she had explained it away by saying that Harry would have been staying all alone as he didn't go home to his family. Their letter back was full of understanding and even a few questions she couldn't answer, like why a twelve year old boy never went home for Christmas and seemed happy about it. Hermione didn't have any answers for them, and whenever she broached the subject with Harry, he always changed the subject and ignored all attempts to gather more information. Nothing in Hermione's experience gave her any insight into her best friend's actions.

Her best friend was another reason that she was conflicted. She noticed that as the train moved closer and closer to London, Harry would close in on himself more and more. Almost like he was dreading what was waiting for him at the train station. She decided that she needed more data before she could form any type of hypothesis.

"Your aunt and uncle will be proud, though, won't they?" said Hermione as they moved with the crowd flowing toward the enchanted barrier. "When they hear what you did this year?"

"Proud?" said Harry. "Are you crazy? All those times I could've died, and I didn't manage it? They'll be furious..." Hermione could tell he was trying to make a joke but something in his eyes told her that part of what he said was true. Hermione could not comprehend the idea of family members having so little regard for one of its members, and she worried about her friend and the type of home she was starting to suspect he lived in. She wished there was something she could do, and resolved to talk to her parents about it when she got home.

Her parents were the third and final worry in her mind that was stopping her excitement for summer. When she was unpetrified, she found a pile of letters waiting for her from her parents wanting to know why she had not written in a few weeks, each letter more anxious then the last. When she was finally able to reply to her parents, she had tried to explain it all away that she was busy studying and just didn't have enough time to write to them. Their reply indicated that they didn't believe her, and that they would be talking about it when she got home. She had no idea how she was going to explain her petrification to her parents in a way that ensured that they wouldn't panic and pull her out of Hogwarts and away from Harry. He was her best and first friend after all, and she didn't want to be separated from him.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Harry and her passing through the barrier and the sound of her mother calling her name. Hermione looked around the crowd and saw her mother and father standing off to the side, her mother waving at her excitedly. She gave Harry a nudge and indicated her parents as she steered her trolley towards them, with Harry beside but slightly behind her.

"Hi mum, hi dad" she greeted her parents happily wrapping each in a hug. "I missed you so much this year."

"We missed you too princess" her father replied looking over her shoulder. Hermione noticed that he was looking at Harry, who was standing slightly away from the Grangers, and Hermione could have sworn she saw a look of longing pass across his face before it was quickly replaced by his normal neutral expression.

Hermione waved her friend forward, remembering that when they met during the summer they really hadn't had a chance to really meet Harry. "Mum, dad, I would like you to meet my best friend, Harry Potter. Harry this is my mum and dad, Hugh and Jane."

Hermione could tell that her friend was nervous as he extended hand. "It is a pleasure to meet you Doctor Granger, and Doctor Granger" he greeted shaking each of her parents hand.

"Please call us Jane and Hugh, Harry" her mother said, smiling at Harry. "With both of us being doctors, it can get confusing. Hermione has told us so much about you, it's like we have known you forever."

"Hermione has told me a lot about you as well."

"Where is your family Harry?" Hermione asked looking around the train station. She remembered the Dursleys from after first year, but couldn't see any sign of them now.

Harry looked around also, a small frown marring his face. "I thought my relatives would have been here by now. Maybe they are just running a little late, or are stuck in traffic."

Hermione saw a look pass between her parents, and her mother gave her father an expectant look. "Well we are in no hurry" he said. "We can wait with you until they come, and if they don't show we can give you a lift home."

"Oh you don't have to do that sir. I'm sure they will be here soon, and I suspect you have more important things to do than wait around with me."

Hermione rolled her eyes at Harry's tendency to keep people from going out of their way to help him. "Nonsense Harry, what kind of people would we be if we just left a twelve year old boy in a train station by themselves?" Hermione winced at her father's reply. That was the exact wrong way to go about this, as Harry was completely self-reliant and hated being treated like a child. "Anyways, we are staying until either you get picked up or we take you ourselves."

Hermione was about to open her mouth to say something when her mum jumped in, obviously seeing the stubborn set to Harry's jaw and remembering a few of the stories Hermione had told her in her letters. "Besides Harry, it will give us a chance to get to know you better. You wouldn't want to deny us that now would you?" Hermione's mum finished with the same smile she used on both Hermione and her dad that always ended up getting her what she wanted.

The smile seemed to work on Harry also, as he looked down at his feet. "No, I suppose not." Harry mumbled out. "Thank you."

"Wonderful" her dad, said clapping his hands and looking around the station. "Let's go sit down in that café over there while we wait and have a bite to eat. I suspect you two haven't eaten for a while.

Hermione could tell Harry was about to object again, but a rumble from his stomach combined with her mother's smile silenced him and the four got a seat facing the entrance of the station. While her father went and got sandwiches and drinks, the other three got comfortable. When her father returned, he handed out sandwiches and drinks to everyone and took his seat beside her mum. "So Harry, Hermione says that you play Quidditch. She has tried to explain the sport, but sports have never been her strong point, can you explain exactly how the game works?"

And that opened up the flood gates. Hermione knew that nothing made Harry as happy as flying, and any chance he had to share his love for it he took with both hands. He was thankfully not as bad as Ron, who seemed to know more about Quidditch than anybody alive, along with stats, past games, and league standings; while Harry on the other hand seemed to love the flying aspect of Quidditch more than the actual game, and it showed in his explanation. He briefly spoke about the rules and the positions, but mostly focused on things that he did while on his broom, going so far as to use his hands to demonstrate to her father a particular maneuver that he performed during the last time he was in the air.

Talk moved from flying to muggle sports, and Hermione was surprised to find that Harry was a football fan. "You never told me you enjoyed football" she blurted out.

Harry shrugged and gave Hermione an apologetic look. "Sorry, I guess it never came up. The Dursleys never allowed me to play, but I was able to catch Match of the Day, as my Uncle watched it in order to be able to talk about the matches over the water cool at work."

"What team did you support?" Hermione's dad asked.

"Arsenal."

"Ah, now we are going to have a problem. You see, this is a Tottenham home and I'm not sure I can allow my daughter to associate with a Gunner fan." Hermione giggled behind her hands at Harry's face. Her dad burst out laughing along with her mum. "I'm just teasing you Harry."

Hermione saw her mum glance at her watch. "We've been waiting for over an hour, how about we just give you a ride home Harry?"

"Ummm I guess, if it's not too much trouble" Harry replied losing his good mood. "Let me try calling first just to double check."

"Use this Harry" her father said, handing Harry his new mobile phone. After thanking her father, Harry picked up the phone and dialed the number from memory. Hermione watched as a confused look came over his face before he hung up and tried again.

"It says that the number is no longer in service, but I know this is their number." He handed the phone back to her dad.

"Well I guess that settles it" her mum said. "We will take you home then." Without waiting for an argument, Hermione's mum stood up and started walking towards the car. Hermione followed close behind her pushing her trolley, with her father and a reluctant Harry bringing up the rear.

Hermione spotted her father's silver Mercedes in the parking lot, and after loading both trunks into the boot, got into the back seat with Harry. "Ok Harry," Her father asked as he pulled out of the parking lot. "Where are we going?"

"Little Whinging Surry, sir."

"Excellent, and none of that sir stuff. It's Hugh and Jane."

Harry nodded and settled back in his seat. Hermione watched him and could tell that he was nervous and confused as to why the phone number didn't work. Reaching over the middle of the seat she took her friends hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. When he looked up in surprise, she flashed him a reassuring smile. The drive passed by rather quickly with her parents asking Harry simple questions about school and his likes and dislikes. When they began to get closer Harry guided her dad to where he lived, and when they pulled in front of the Number 4 Privet Drive, Hermione could tell something was wrong.

Whenever Harry described his home, which admittedly wasn't often, he spoke about the perfectly manicured lawn and well cared for garden. The house they had parked in front of had neither of those. The biggest thing though was the sign out front that read 'For Sale'.

"Are you sure this is the right place Harry?" Hermione's mum asked.

Harry only nodded, his mind not comprehending what he was seeing. Hermione squeezed Harry's hand tighter but he didn't seem to notice, he only continued to stare at the house. Hermione looked at the house also, and she thought she could see what looked like the remnants of bars in front of one of the windows on the second floor. She remembered Ron telling her about the bars, but had assumed Harry just lived in a dodgy neighborhood. Seeing it now, she wasn't so sure. "I'll be right back." Her father said, getting out of the car. Hermione watched as he walked up the garden path and knocked on the door, and after a minute he moved to one of the side windows and peered in before making his way back to the car.

He leaned into Hermione's mum's window and tried to whisper with no success. "The house is completely empty and it looks like it has been for a while."

Just then a middle aged woman passed by the car pushing a pram down the sidewalk. "Excuse me," Hermione's father asked. "Do you know what happened to the people who used to live here?"

"Oh you mean the Dursleys? They moved almost eight months ago. I heard he got a promotion and transfer across the pond. Good riddance I say, that family was no good. The wife was a nosy gossip while her son was a bully. And don't get me started on the delinquent of a nephew. I heard he was sent to a school for criminal boys."

Hermione could feel Harry start to pull away from her and curl in on himself at each word the woman had said, as he stared ahead blankly.

"Did they leave a forwarding address or anything?" her father asked.

"No, I think the company is handling the sale of their house. You can try calling them if you want."

Hermione heard her father thank the woman before she walked away and he got back in the car. For a few moments the silence in the car remained, until it was broken by Harry in a voice Hermione hoped never to hear from her friend. "They left me, they just up and left me." Hermione looked over at her friend to see him staring blankly at the house. "I knew they hated me, but I never imagined they would just up and leave me. Beat me, starve me, lock me in my cupboard and go on vacation, yes, but they always came back." Hermione watched in horror as Harry brought his knees up and hugged them to his chest. She was in such shock that she didn't even resist when he removed his hand from hers.

Hermione looked to the front seat hoping her parents knew what to do and how to help, and saw them having one of their silent conversations. Whatever they talked about was agreed on quickly, as her father started the car and drove away with Harry paying no mind, still lost in his own head. The drive home was silent, and Hermione fidgeted between looking to her parents for help and looking at Harry trying to find a way to help him herself. Finally they returned to their home in Crawly, and her mother was the first one out of the car as she practically ran into the house. Her father was next, and came to Harry's side and opened the door.

"Come on Harry, Jane is preparing a room for you. You will stay with us for as long as you need it."

Harry simply nodded and got out of the car. He moved towards the back only to be stopped by her dad and redirected into the house. Harry went without complaint and went inside. Hermione jumped out of the car to run after her friend, but was stopped by her father. "Just let him be for now princess. The poor boy is in shock and will not register anything you say. We have to let him come out of it on his own, and then be there for him when he is ready."

"How could his family do that to him daddy? Don't they know what a wonderful boy Harry is?"

"Sometimes people refuse to see what is right in front of them. You have been lucky to have two loving parents and adults who support you. It seems like Harry hasn't had any of that since he lost his parents."

"How did I miss that he was from an abusive household? You and mummy taught me how to recognize the signs."

"It is probably a combination of two things. The first is you didn't want to see it. It is easy to see the signs when you are an outside observer. Both your mother and I had our suspicions from things you wrote about and then again meeting him today. Second is he didn't want you to see. Abused children will sometimes go to great lengths to hide the fact that they are abused, especially from their friends; they see it as an embarrassment and weakness. Also, I suspect that Harry has tried to tell someone at one point, and as is the case sometimes, the child is not believed and ignored. You heard what that lady said; it is believed Harry is a delinquent who spends the majority of the year in a school for criminal boys. If that is the prevailing belief amongst neighbors and teachers, then it is most likely any claims of abuse were ignored. Then, to make matters worse, if news reached his relatives it most likely resulted in worse punishment."

Hermione and her father entered the house just as her mother was coming downstairs. "Well, he's asleep in the guest room." Her mum said. "I don't think he even took off his clothes. He just collapsed on the bed and fell asleep."

"What are we going to do?" Hermione asked her parents. "Do you think we should inform Professor Dumbledore?"

"Why would your headmaster have anything to do with this?" her father asked.

Hermione was a little surprised at the indifference her father said Professor Dumbledore's name with. She was so used to everyone saying it with a bit of awe. "Well, he is the one who placed Harry with his relatives. I assume he had his reasons."

Hermione's parents shared a look that Hermione was sure spoke volumes before her mum shook her head. "No sweetie, we will not be informing the headmaster. If he was so concerned about Harry's wellbeing he would have put that poor boy in a better home, or at least checked on him."

Hermione wanted to argue that Professor Dumbledore was a great man and always looked out for the students, but she couldn't form any valid arguments to support this statement, and thus kept quiet.

"And don't think that this is getting you out of telling us about why you stopped writing for two months young lady" her father said sternly. "And this time I want the truth and none of this I was busy studying." Hermione could only nod, still looking at her feet. "Now it's been a long trying day, and it is quite late. Let's head to bed and we can talk more in the morning. I put Harry's trunk in the living room for now, and we can move it to the guest room later. I'll take yours up while you get ready for bed." After a round of hugs, Hermione went upstairs and changed into her pajamas before climbing into bed.

-(=)-

Hermione was awoken in the middle of the night by a strange sound. Crawling out of bed, she donned her bathrobe and slippers and followed the noise into the hall. As she got closer to the source of the noise, she could distinguish the sound of crying coming from the guest room. She poked her head in and found Harry curled into a ball, crying into his pillow in an effort to muffle his cries.

"Oh Harry" Hermione said, rushing over to her friend. She quickly crawled onto the bed and drew the distraught boy into her arms. "It will be ok Harry."

Harry continued to sob harder. "Why did they leave me? I tried so hard make them love me for the longest time, but everything I did just made it worse. I tried to do my best in school and got top marks, only to be punished. I then did worse than Dudley and was punished. I tried so hard to do my chores the best, but nothing was ever good enough. In the end it didn't matter, as I'm just a freak and no one will ever want me."

"That's not true Harry." Hermione said hugging him tighter. "You're not a freak, and if your relatives can't see what a wonderful person you are, it's their loss. I'm sure that my parents will be more than willing to let you stay for as long as you want."

"You sure?" Harry asked his sobs receding. "I don't want to be a burden."

Hermione was surprised by her mum's voice at the door. "Of course we want you here Harry. We have plenty of space, and would love the opportunity to get to know you better. You will not be a burden to us."

"I can earn my way. I can cook, and clean, and am quite good at gardening."

Hermione's mum waved her hand as if swatting away his concern. "We can talk about that later Harry. Just know that you will never be expected to do chores, or 'earn your way' here with us. If you end up staying with us you will be treated just like a member of this family, just like Hermione." Hermione could feel Harry nod and she saw a watery smile break out on her friends face.

"Thank you ma'am, you have no idea how much that would mean to me."

"Jane, Harry, my name is Jane." Harry smiled and nodded. "Good, now to bed with both of you. We have a long few days coming up and you need your sleep." With that her mum turned and left Harry's room, leaving the two kids.

"Now I see where you get your big heart from Hermione" Harry said, still in her arms. "Your parents are amazing."

"They are Harry, and they mean what they say. Do you think you can get back to sleep?"

"Yeah I think so. Thanks for being here Hermione."

Hermione laid Harry into bed and pulled the covers around him, tucking him in. "Goodnight Harry. Sleep well, I'm glad you're here."

"Me too" came Harry's quiet reply as he fell asleep. Feeling bold, Hermione bent down and kissed the forehead of the sleeping boy before rushing off to her own room and her bed.


	2. The Truth

Ch. 2 The Truth

Hermione woke the next morning to the smell of bacon wafting up from the kitchen. Remembering the previous day and who was staying at her house had her quickly jumping out of bed and donning her robe and slippers before leaving her room and crossing the hall to the guest room, to find it already empty with the bed neatly made. Deciding to investigate the bacon smell, she made her way downstairs to the kitchen to find a familiar black haired boy standing at the stove in the same clothes he was wearing the night before, working two frying pans.

"Good morning Hermione." He greeted without taking his eyes off of his work.

"Good morning Harry, what are you cooking?"

"I woke up a while ago and thought I would make breakfast as a thank you to your parents."

"That's very sweet of you Harry." Hermione's mum said coming into the kitchen, also in her bathrobe and slippers. "But you didn't have to do that."

"I know I didn't have to." Harry said quietly, "But I wanted to."

"And you even made coffee." Her dad said with approval, while pouring himself a cup.

Harry nodded, sliding the last of the eggs out of the frying pan and onto a plate before moving to the table and placing the last of the food in the middle. Everyone sat at the table digging into the food with satisfying sounds. "This is really good Harry, I didn't know you could cook" Hermione complimented.

Hermione saw Harry blush at the praise and focus on his plate. "I was punished for bad cooking, so needless to say, I learned quickly."

An awkward silence settled over the table at the mention of the Dursleys', as each member of the Granger family contemplated what the punishment entailed. The silence was finally broken by Hermione's mum. "How are you feeling Harry, you were pretty shook up last night."

Harry moved his eggs around his plate, not looking at anybody as he thought about his answer. Hermione was expecting Harry's typical answer of 'fine', so she was surprised when he actually answered. "I think the suddenness of it all just overwhelmed me last night. While I was cooking breakfast this morning, it gave me time to think, and I came to the conclusion that no matter what happens next, I'm better off without them in my life. Yeah, it still hurts to think that my own 'family' abandoned me, but I keep telling myself that even if Aunt Petunia shares the same blood as me, she is not my family."

"I'm glad to hear that Harry, and if you ever want to talk about anything, you can talk to either of us." Hermione's dad said. "Jane and I have talked about it and we want you to know that you can make this your home, and if you want, we can file the paperwork to be your permanent guardians."

Hermione gave Harry a hopeful smile, and nodded encouragingly when he met her eyes. "I think I would like that Sir, I mean Hugh." Harry quickly corrected at her dad's raised eye brow.

"Wonderful, it's a good thing we took a few days off from the practice." Hermione's mum said, rising from her chair and getting a pen and paper. "I'll start making a list of the things we need to get done." Hermione saw Harry glance over at her with a mischievous smile on his face.

"I see where Hermione gets her organizational skills." He said in a teasing tone.

"Well of course." Hermione's mum replied brightly, ignoring the teasing tone. "List's make things so much more organized."

Hermione smiled back at her mum. "Plus it just feels wonderful crossing things off the list as you finish them." Her mum just nodded in agreement.

"Get used to it Harry." Hermione's dad stage whispered to Harry. "This family is run on a list, and you will find it's just easier to go with the list than fight it."

Both Hermione and her mum ignored her dad's comment and instead focused on the list. "So we need to talk to someone about your guardianship and get that sorted out." Hermione's mum said writing out her list.

"The goblins might be a good place to start." Hermione said. "I read that they deal with a lot of legal issues that wizards are too lazy to deal with themselves."

Her mum nodded. "Okay, so a trip to Gringotts goes onto the list, and while we are there we might as well make a stop at the bookstore on sheer principle. We will also have to talk to them about travel documents, as I'm assuming you don't have a passport and you will need one before we go to France in a few weeks."

"France?" Harry asked dumbfounded. He turned to Hermione with a look of surprise on his face. "I'm going to France?"

"Of course you are Harry." Hermione told her friend. "We were planning on going in August, and you can't think we would go without you." Hermione could tell by the look on his face that that was exactly what he expected, and felt her heart break a little more that Harry's past experiences with family vacation amounted to him staying home and mentally cursed the Dursley's for what they did to her best friend. "Anyways, you're coming with, and we are going to have a great time" Hermione declared in her no nonsense voice while Harry just smiled and nodded.

"I think we will need to do some shopping also. Hermione, I know you've grown quite a bit since last summer and could use some new clothes, and I bet Harry could use some new ones also." Harry just nodded, his face reddening in embarrassment.

"The only time I've gotten new clothes was when I bought my Hogwarts uniform." Harry quietly said, looking like every word was being dragged out of him. "My clothes have always been Dudley's hand me downs, as they said that was all a freak deserved."

"You are not a freak Harry." Hermione defended fiercely. "And you have as much right to have nice fitting clothes as anybody else."

"Harry, there is nothing to be ashamed of" Hugh said noticing his reaction. "It's those _people_ who should be ashamed."

"They're right Harry" Jane said. "This is an often used method to destroy a person's self-esteem; make them wear unfitting and second hand clothes that are no better than rags, while at the same time forcing them to feel grateful for having even that."

Suddenly, aspects of Harry's past actions seemed to click in Hermione's mind. She realized that her best friend had no self-esteem, and it showed in his interactions with the other students, and how he always tried to stay in the shadows and avoid attention. She thought about how he always capitulated to Ronald when he wanted to goof off and play chess, or even when she would browbeat him into doing what she wanted him to do. Hermione grimaced and vowed to try to curve her more bossy tendencies, and instead encourage Harry's self-esteem. It's the least she could do for a boy who would jump on the back of a twelve foot mountain troll for a girl he barely knew.

"New clothes would be brilliant, and I can get money out of my Gringotts vault and pay for them" Said Harry breaking Hermione out of her own thoughts.

Hermione's mum waved the thought away. "Nonsense Harry, as your guardians, it is our responsibility to get you clothes." Seeing his mouth open to protest, Jane just overrode him. "And I don't want to hear any objections or talk of you being a burden." Harry closed his mouth quickly and Hermione could have sworn she heard the click of his teeth while her parents nodded in satisfaction.

"Now that that's settled," Hermione's dad said, his face turning serious. "Would you like to tell us the real reason you stopped writing to us young lady?"

Hermione gulped and looked at Harry. Brown eyes met emerald green, and Harry gave her an encouraging smile and nod. She knew with that look that he would stick by her no matter what happened, so gathering her Gryffindor Courage, she squared her shoulders and looked back at her parents. "I didn't write because I spent the last two months of term in the hospital wing petrified."

"Explain" was all her father was able to say as both her parent's faces had paled substantially, and Hermione could see the fear and anger in both their eyes.

Hermione began to wring her hands nervously under the table, until Harry reached over and took her hand in his and gave them an encouraging squeeze. Hermione looked at him in surprise, as Harry very rarely initiated contact himself. Looking over at her best friend, he seemed almost as surprised by this gesture as Hermione was, and the two regarded each other each with small smiles forming on their faces before a clearing of her father's throat brought them back to the matter at hand, both blushing scarlet. Seeing her parent's impatience growing, Hermione began to tell her parents everything about her second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, with Harry filling them in on her time in the Hospital Wing.

"So let me get this straight," her father asked, trying to hold in his temper. "You were attacked by an unknown creature, and were petrified for two months, and no one thought to inform your parents?"

Hermione looked down at the table, not sure what to say. "The teachers probably didn't think it was necessary, as there was nothing you could do, and you couldn't even come to see me yourself since you're not able to enter Hogwarts."

"I'm sorry; I should have sent Hedwig with a letter explaining what had happened." Harry said. "I knew Hermione wrote you every week, and I saw the post owls arrive from Diagon Alley with your letters, but I never thought to tell you what happened."

Jane just shook her head in exasperation. "It's not your fault Harry. Tom was nice enough to let us into Diagon Alley to send letters from the post office, and it wasn't your responsibility to tell us if something was wrong with our daughter. That responsibility squarely falls on the shoulders of the school. Any other boarding school is required to contact your parents if you have to spend any amount of time in the nurses office, and you know both your father and I have never been comfortable sending you to a school we can't even visit, and this is exactly why." Hermione's mum pinched the bridge of her nose.

Hermione nodded, remembering their discussions on the subject when Professor McGonagall first came to visit.

"Why didn't you tell us this in your letters when you started writing again?" her father asked.

Hermione couldn't meet her parent's eyes', as she hated lying to them and didn't want to see the look of disappointment she was sure would be in there. "I didn't want you to pull me out of Hogwarts and away from my friends" she finally admitted as she felt Harry squeeze her hand, reminding her he was still there.

She finally looked up and saw her parents having another one of their silent conversations and her mum asked "Is there anything else you haven't told us about your two years at Hogwarts?"

Hermione hesitated only a moment, which only seemed to answer her mum's question. "Hermione Jean Granger," her mother growled in a manner that told Hermione just how much trouble she was in. "What haven't you told us?"

Hermione chewed her bottom lip, thinking hard, and looked over at her best friend. "We need to tell them 'Mione" Harry said quietly. She was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn't even notice the shortening of her name. "If they are going to be a part of my life, they need to know what they are getting into."

Hermione nodded uncertainly, "If you're sure Harry." He nodded his head again, a little more firmly, but with a look of resignation in his eyes. Hermione could tell that that her best friend fully expected to be shown the door, and was resigned to what in his mind was the inevitable when her parents learned what associating with him entailed and showed him the door. "Okay, I guess I should start at the beginning. As you probably remember, my first month at Hogwarts wasn't the best for me, and it wasn't until Halloween that things began to finally turn around. I sort of lied when I said that Harry and I became friends after he helped comfort me after some bully said some quite hurtful things, causing me to run into a girl's bathroom and cry the whole day; well the truth was that Harry saved me from a twelve foot mountain troll that was about to bash my head in with a giant club." With that, the floodgates opened, with Hermione going through each and every experience from her first year of Hogwarts as her parents just sat there, with her mother jotting down notes on another piece of paper. Harry added his own observations, and took over the story when they reached the potion room and finished it off with him waking up in the hospital wing and his discussion with the Headmaster, causing another look to pass between her parents.

When Hermione was finished her mouth was parched. Looking to her side, she found Harry already standing next to her with a tall glass of water, complete with ice. She smiled her thanks, and drank the cold liquid gratefully.

"So let me see if I understand this." Hugh said pinching the bridge of his nose. "The headmaster decided that it was a good idea to keep a highly valuable magical object in a school for children, guarded by 'traps' that three first years were able to get through; A magical object that someone had already attempted to steal from a place supposedly impossible to steal from?" Both Harry and Hermione nodded. "When you tried to get help, your concerns were brushed away as if nothing was wrong, then when the headmaster finally showed up, he was not surprised that you had gone after this stone thing yourself?" Again both nodded, and he asked Harry. "And finally, after all was said and done, he patted you on the head, rewarded you with a mountain of 'house points', and sent you back to your aunt and uncle without any counselling, even though you were almost murdered and ended up killing the would be murderer in self-defense? Not to mention whatever secret he is keeping from you regarding this Voldemort person." Harry nodded again, grimacing at the reminder of Quirrell's death.

Hermione's mum looked down at her copious notes. "If I understand your story correct, the same thing happened this year, and once again it was left up to three school kids to save the school, while the people in charge sat around doing nothing. Oh, and that just happened to entail a twelve year old killing a giant snake that killed with a look, and all he had was a sword. "

Harry let out a tired sigh and Hermione had to agree with him. When you put it all together like that, everything seemed quite dodgy. "That pretty much sums it up. I know that Tom came after me specifically the night my parents died and Dumbledore knows why but he refuses to tell me. I don't know why he thinks he can interfere in my life so much."

"Well he is the Headmaster of the school, the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, and the Head Mugwump of the ICW. Plus he is the Leader of the Light and the only wizard that You-Know-Who ever feared." Hermione said trying to defend Dumbledore. "I'm sure he has a reason."

"Hermione sweetie," her mother said patiently. "I know your father and I have taught you to respect people in authority, and maybe we have done too good of a job, but you have to remember also that no matter how powerful someone is, they are still only human, prone to all the failures associated with that classification. You shouldn't blindly follow anyone just because they have a few fancy titles in their name."

"Snape" Harry fake coughed causing Hermione to shoot him a glare while he just smiled back. She was able to resist the urge to have him add the Professor honorific in front of his name, but just barely.

Hugh was nodding. "Yes, that's another thing, how can Dumbledore allow a person like Snape teach to children? From your letters and listening to your story, he seems like a spiteful bully who clearly favors his own students while allowing them to bully other students. Not to mention the vendetta he seems to have for Harry for some reason. You have said yourself that he just puts the potion recipe on the board without teaching about said potion." Hermione grimaced, and had to agree that Professor Snape was a horrible teacher, especially to Harry and Neville.

"I think me and your father are going to have a long conversation tonight about both of your futures at Hogwarts." Both Harry and Hermione looked at each other with worried eyes at her mum's declaration. "We will talk about this some more tomorrow morning. Until then, I think it's time to do something else. How about you go unpack your trunks and go explore the neighborhood. Harry that room is yours now, and we can discuss how you want to decorate it later. The only thing we expect is for you to keep your room tidy just like Hermione." Both kids nodded and left the kitchen, heading upstairs to get settled and go enjoy the day, leaving the two adults to have a long hard discussion.

-(=)-

Later that night, a slipper clad Hermione quietly padded over to the now designated 'Harry's Room' and softly knocked on the slightly opened door. After getting permission to come in, Hermione slipped in and closed the door behind her, leaving it partially opened so as not to freak out her parents. She found her best friend propped up in his bed, reading a book that Hermione guessed he got from one of the many bookshelves around the house.

"Can we talk Harry?" Hermione said nervously.

"Of course Mione" Harry replied, marking his place and scooting over in the bed for her to sit.

Hermione couldn't help the smile that formed on her lips as she joined him on the bed sitting against the headboard. "That's the second time you've called me that."

Harry's cheeks blossomed scarlet and he focused on his hands again, that were busy playing with the book. "Oh sorry, I didn't even realize I was doing it. I can stop if you want me to."

"No, I like it, but only from you. I don't think I would like it if Ronald called me that."

Harry grimaced, "I guess I can understand why, he really isn't that nice to you is he?"

Hermione hesitated before shaking her head. "No he isn't. We are just too different I think. He has his moments, but I think we just see the world in different ways." Hermione shook her head, as she really didn't want to talk about Ronald Weasley right now. A part of her hoped that Harry was starting to see Ronald in a different light, but that was a discussion for another time. "Harry, are you sure it was a good idea to tell my parents everything?"

Harry only nodded. "Yeah, I do. I had a lot of time to think this year while you were petrified. I think I spent more time by your bedside then all the combined time I've been in one of those beds." Hermione smiled at the admonition, and saw Harry's cheeks turn scarlet again. "Poppy even tried to chase me out, but I would just come back under my cloak. I know how lonely that place can be at night, and I didn't want you to be alone." Suddenly Harry jumped out of bed. "Oh that reminds me, in all the excitement of the end of term I forgot to give you something." He moved over to his trunk and rummaged around looking for something. He came back with a pile of parchment neatly stacked and organized. "I tried to take notes for you for the classes you missed. I know my handwriting is not the best," He trailed of at a loss for words and shrugged.

Hermione looked over the parchment and unlike Harry's normal hand writing, the notes were written in a legible hand and organized by subject. Hermione began to tear up at the thoughtfulness of her friend. "Thank you Harry, I was so worried I was going to be so behind next year."

Harry shrugged his shoulders again, smiling as he took his seat back on the bed. "It was no problem Hermione. My grades actually improved quite a lot."

"Harry, I know you have a good brain between your ears, and your practical work is good, and If you just apply yourself a bit more you could do really well. But that is also a discussion for another day. Why did you want to tell my parents everything?"

"Mione, your parents have offered to take me into their home and treat me like a member of your family. If they want me to be a part of their lives, then they have the right to know what they are getting into. I want them to have as much information as possible."

Hermione nodded thoughtfully, but she was still really nervous. "But what if they decide to take us out of Hogwarts and send us to another school?"

Harry looked at her in confusion. "Other school?"

Hermione rolled her eyes and smiled at how clueless her best friend was sometimes. "Of course there are other schools Harry, you didn't think that Hogwarts was the only school in the world did you?"

"I guess I never gave it much thought, at first I was going to Stonewall High and then all of a sudden I learn that I'm a wizard and going to Wizard school. I wanted to buy more books in the bookstore, but every time I've been something always prevents me from getting them."

"Well you will not have that problem with us; my parents will let you buy as many books as you want."

"Ok kids, time for bed." Hermione's mum's said from the door. Hermione looked up, seeing her mum's smiling face leaning against the door frame. "Tomorrow is going to be a long day and you both need your rest." Both nodded and Hermione stood up from the bed after giving Harry a goodnight hug, and smiling as she felt him give her a hug back. Hermione followed her mum out of Harry's room, and went to her room and after bidding her mum a goodnight, crawled in bed, and went to sleep assured in the knowledge that whatever her parents decided in the morning, her best friend would be right there with her.

A/N Thanks for reading. Let me know what you think.


	3. Decisions

A/N Thanks again to my wonderful BETA Matt2Parker for the polish, here is the next chapter. Hope you enjoy and as always, I own nothing.

Ch. 3 Decisions

Hermione sat next to Harry at the table, nervously eating her bowl of cereal. Neither talked much, as both were rather nervous about what Hermione's parents had decided, and both anxiously awaited the older Granger's arrival at the breakfast table. Covering a yawn with the back of her hand, Hermione reached for the pot of tea with the other and refilled her cup, hoping that her third cup would finally do the trick and wake her up after a long night of tossing and turning, worrying about the future of her schooling. The sound of footsteps alerted Hermione that her parents had finally decided to come down and join them for breakfast. Both parents took their usual seats at the breakfast table and poured their own tea, or in her dad's case coffee, before regarding the nervous pair.

"So I guess you two want to know what we have decided about your education." Hugh asked, receiving anxious nods from both Hermione and Harry. "Well the only thing we decided is that we don't want either of you going back to Hogwarts, as it just does not seem like a safe environment for either of you." Hugh paused a moment and looked at Harry. "Now Harry, I know right now we don't have any real say in what you do, and if you don't want us to be your guardian because of this we will understand."

Harry met Hermione's eyes while she tried not to express how nervous she was that he would want to return to Hogwarts without her. A small smile and a slight nod was all it took to ease her fears and the two shared a small smile. "Hugh, even though I have only been here a day, this place already feels more like home than Privet Drive ever did. It's not so much the house, but the people in the house." Harry paused and Hermione could tell that her best friend was trying to figure out the best way to say what he was thinking. She knew he didn't express his emotions well, and it only served as another reason for her to curse the Dursleys. "Well, I guess what I'm trying to say is that if you will still have me, I would like to call this place home, and wherever Hermione goes, I'll go."

Hermione could feel the large smile that threatened to split her face in half, and saw that her happiness was matched by her parents. None of the Grangers realized though, that in an empty office at the top of a tower in a castle in Scotland, a small silver device stopped spinning and let out an ear splitting sound that was only heard by an assortment of sleeping portraits.

"Well I'm glad to hear that Harry," Jane said still smiling. "Now, that that is decided, we need to find what our options are, and this part you two WILL have a say in. Do you know anything about what other options magical children have?"

Hermione's continence brightened at being able to provide her parents with information. During her first month of Hogwarts, she had done quite a bit of research into what her options were as she was thinking about leaving. But then Halloween happened and her emerald eyed hero had saved her life and became her best friend. "In Magical England, we have few options. As a muggleborn, I need to be enrolled in an accredited school until I complete my OWLs. I can't even hire tutors as the law states that 'home tutoring would require performing magic in an area that might be observed by muggles and thus endanger the Statute of Secrecy.' Really it's just another way the bigots make sure that Muggleborns are discriminated against, as the Purebloods can hire any tutor they want and perform magic at home since the sensors only detect magic being performed and not who performed it." Hermione was beginning to get worked up when she felt a hand slip into hers and give it a small squeeze, breaking her out of her rant.

Hermione looked over in surprise to see Harry smiling at her, his hand in hers. "Hermione calm down; I know it's unfair, but there is nothing we can do about it now. Let's focus on figuring out what we can do. You mentioned last night there were other schools."

Hermione gave Harry a sheepish look, appreciating him keeping her on track and not letting her get on her soap box. "First of all, when Professor McGonagall said that Hogwarts was the best magic school in the United Kingdom, she wasn't lying as there are no other magic schools in England. If we want to change schools, we will need to leave the country. The closest school I know of is Beauxbatons in France. It is also one of the largest schools in Europe as it takes in students from all over Western Europe. Then there is Durmstrang, but from what I have read, that isn't really an option as they don't allow muggleborns. There are numerous smaller schools in other European countries and other larger ones around the world as each country seems to have its own school though they run the spectrum in quality."

Jane frowned at that. "I think we would prefer you two to stay in Europe. I don't really like the idea of you going to a school on the other side of the world."

Hugh nodded in agreement. "I like the sound of the French school, but we should look into some other ones also."

Hermione looked over at Harry seeing him fidget in his seat. Catching his eye she raised an eyebrow as if to ask 'what's wrong.' "Um, I don't speak any French or any other language unless you count snake."

"That might be a problem" Hugh said thoughtfully. "Do you know of any way to magically learn a language?" Both kids shook their heads negative. "We will have to add that to the list for things to research. All three of us are fluent so we can help you learn."

Jane nodded approvingly. "Even if you go to a school that speaks English, knowing another language is still a very good skill to have."

Hermione knowing Harry's normal study habits had a bit of doubt about Harry's ability to learn enough French to be able to start school, but when she glanced over at her best friend, she saw a determined look in his eye that she had only seen twice, once when he rescued her from the troll, and second right before they went after the stone. Seeing that look, she knew that Harry would succeed in whatever he put his mind to.

-(=)-

An hour later, the Grangers plus Harry were striding through the Leaky Cauldron towards the hidden entrance to Diagon Alley. Hermione stifled a giggle as she saw Harry adjust the Tottenham hat her father had given him to wear to cover his hair and scar for the third time in five minutes, fully aware that it wasn't so much the hat that made him uncomfortable, but the fact that it was his rival team's hat. "Stop fidgeting with it Harry or it will draw more attention to you."

"Are you sure your dad couldn't find a different hat for me to wear, any hat, even a flower bonnet from your mum?"

Her dad laughed softly beside them. "I don't know what you're complaining about Harry, it's a great hat." Harry scowled back but Hermione could tell that he was enjoying the back and forth between her dad and him. 'Boys and their football' Hermione thought with fond exasperation. The small party walked quickly through the opening to Diagon Alley and passed briskly past the numerous shops that lined the narrow cobbled stone street as they made their way to the large marble building and after climbing the stairs, entered the lobby of Gringotts Bank.

After standing in a short que, the four approached the now free goblin. "Good morning," Harry greeted. "I was wondering if I could speak with someone about my account."

The Goblin regarded Harry for a second. "Name?"

"Harry Potter."

"Do you have your key?" Harry nodded and handed the small creature a small bronze key. The goblin held the small key close to his eyes examining it before nodding. "I will show you to your Account Manager." The short goblin jumped from his stool and led the four from the lobby through a long hallway and to a pair of gold plaited doors. The goblin knocked on the door and stuck his head in, and a moment later pulled it out and pushed the door's fully open, allowing Harry and the Grangers to enter the office.

Hermione eyes roamed around the office, noticing that though the goblins had mostly moved to financial matters, they still displayed their warrior backgrounds proudly. The room's walls were covered with weapons, both old and new, alongside trophies of battles past. In the middle of the office sat a large oak desk, complete with two chairs in front and a well-dressed goblin sitting behind it. "Ah Mister Potter, I'm glad you received my message, though it would have been more polite to reply instead of just showing up unannounced" remarked the goblin, disapproval clear in his voice. Glancing at Harry, Hermione saw her confusion reflected in his eyes.

"Um, I'm not sure what letter you are talking about," Harry told the goblin nervously. "We just came to talk to someone about some legal matters and access my vault."

"I sent it to the same place I've sent all of our correspondence, and you have always replied to them."

"I still have no idea what you're talking about as I've never received any letter from Gringotts" Harry said again in exasperation, while the goblin that had yet to identify himself nodded and scowled.

"Well you better take a seat then, as I would guess we have much to discuss today." The goblin snapped his long clawed fingers and two more chairs appeared in front of his desk, bringing the total to four and allowing everyone to settle themselves in front of the desk, with Hermione and Harry sitting between the elder Grangers. "First, I guess introductions are in order: I am Sharpclaw and have been the account manager for your family for the last fifty years. I had hoped to meet with you when you came in on your eleventh birthday, but by the time I learned you were here you had already left, and then we had the break in that same day. Ever since then I had been sending you account statements and request for meetings, but each time I received replies that you were unable to attend."

"This is my best friend Hermione Granger and her parents Hugh and Jane" Harry said handling the introductions. "I don't know anything about any letters." Harry repeated again with complete honesty. "I don't get many letters to begin with, so I'm sure I would have noticed letters from Gringotts."

"We will have to investigate this further." Sharpclaw made a note on a piece of parchment. "Now since I have you here, we can go over your accounts." What proceeded next was a long explanation that left Hermione's head spinning with the amount of money, properties, and other assets Sharpclaw was so casually listing. If her mental calculations were correct, and they usually were, Harry's family was quite wealthy in both the magical and muggle world.

After almost thirty minutes Hermione could tell that Harry was beginning to get overwhelmed with information and numbers, a situation her mother seemed to notice also as she decided to step in. "Do you think we can take this with us and go over it together?" Jane asked.

"I'm sorry, but we can only release information about Potter accounts to Mr. Potter's guardians."

At this, Hermione's father decided to interject for the first time during the meeting. "Well that is actually one of the reasons we are here. It appears that Harry is in need of new guardians, and we would like to fulfil that role." Hermione's father went on to tell Sharpclaw about the events of the day they found Number 4 empty, and their offer to take Harry in.

"As much as I would like to just award you custody of Mr. Potter, it is not within our power to do so; but I do know someone who can help." Sharpclaw folded a piece of parchment into an airplane after writing a short note onto it and then, with a tap of his finger, the plane soared into the air and out of the office. A few minutes later a tall, older looking gentleman with long salt and pepper hair, complete with matching beard that framed his mouth and chin, walked into the office. The first thing that Hermione noticed though, was that instead of the normal wizard robes she had come to expect from wizards, this man wore a pinstripe suit. "What can I do for you Sharpclaw?" the man asked as he eyed the four in front of the desk, his eyes lingering on Harry, a look of anticipation in his eyes.

"Mr. Potter, I would like you to meet Mister Edger Grey. Mr. Grey has been the Potter Solicitor since before your grandfather died."

"Mr. Potter, it is a pleasure to finally meet you." Mr. Grey said shaking Harry's hand and smiling. "I've been hoping to speak with you for a while, but Dumbledore kept putting me off. He even tried to fire me, but was unable to due to the preexisting contract."

"Why would Dumbledore have anything to say about Harry seeing his family solicitor?" Hugh asked, and Hermione could tell her father was again frustrated with the amount of interference the headmaster had in Harry's life.

"Because he is his Magical Guardian" Mr. Grey answered, sounding slightly confused.

"Perhaps, you could tell Mr. Grey what you told me?" Sharpclaw suggested to Hermione's father. Hugh nodded and repeated the story about finding the Dursleys gone and their desire to take over Harry's guardianship.

"Mr. Grey," Hermione's mum asked. "What exactly is a Magical Guardian and what is their responsibility?"

"A Magical Guardian is assigned to a wizard or witch whose guardians are muggles. They are responsible for making decisions that pertain to the magical world. They are also responsible for ensuring the proper treatment of their wards."

Hermione saw her parents exchange glances. "So it was Dumbledore's responsibility to ensure that Harry grew up in a happy home?" Mr. Grey nodded and Hermione could see the worry beginning to appear in his face.

"Dumbledore assured me many times that he checked on Harry multiple times a year to ensure he was treated well. He never even let me know where or who he was living with, as he claimed it was for Harry's safety."

"Harry," Hermione's mum asked gently. "Can you please tell Mr. Grey where your room was for the first ten years of your life?"

Hermione saw Harry tense up, and she reached over and took his hand and gave him a reassuring smile, but could tell he didn't want to talk about it. Hermione's mum smiled and nodded encouragingly while Hermione gave his hand a soft squeeze. "For the first ten years, my room was the cupboard under the stairs." Harry whispered quietly. Slowly with Hermione and her mum's encouragement, Harry began to tell more about his life as Mr. Grey's complexion paled with each new revelation.

"So you see Mr. Grey" Hugh said with a bit of heat in his voice. "If Dumbledore was supposed to be Harry's magical Guardian, then he has done a shitty job of it."

"Too Right Mr. Granger, and with Harry's testimony, we should have no problem stripping him of his guardianship. The problem is that Harry still needs a magical guardian if you two are going to take over his guardianship in the muggle world." Mr. Grey looked thoughtful for a few minutes. "If you would like, I can take over his magical guardianship with the stipulation that every decision is discussed with you two. The head of the records department owes me a favor, and I can get the paperwork filed without it being advertised. The only way someone would find out is if they go looking for it. I can do the same thing for your daughter, as the Headmaster is her magical guardian also unless otherwise specified."

"I think that will work." Hermione's dad said nodding. "And most likely it will get out soon, as I'm sure Dumbledore will not appreciate our decision to send both Harry and Hermione to another school next year."

To his credit, Mr. Grey only raised an eye brow in surprise. "Might I ask what brought this decision on?"

"You might want to sit down, as this will be a long story," Hermione said and another chair appeared allowing Mr. Grey to sit. Together with Harry, they told Mr. Grey and Sharpclaw about their two years at Hogwarts.

"Let me get this straight Mr. Potter," Sharpclaw asked at the end of their story. "You killed a sixty foot basilisk only a few weeks ago and it is now sitting unharvested under Hogwarts?" Harry nodded. "A creature that size would be worth quite a lot if harvested quickly, and since you killed it, it's yours. Even after what Gringotts would charge for processing and selling it, you still stand to make a tidy profit off of the beast. We can use a recording crystal of you telling the doors to open so you don't even need to be present to access the beast, and have it finished in no time."

Harry quickly agreed to the harvesting of the corpse and said he would figure out the distribution of the money after the sale was final, and Sharpclaw took out two crystals from his desk and tapped the first with a long finger. "Please say 'open' Mr. Potter." Harry hissed at the crystal before Sharpclaw repeated the process with the second crystal, having Harry repeat what Riddle said to open the door. "Excellent, we will get on this right away and let you know how it goes."

"Okay," Mr. Grey said rejoining the conversation. "I can understand why you want to go to another school. Do you have any idea where you want to go?"

"We are thinking Beauxbatons, but we need to do some research before making a final decision." Hermione told the solicitor.

"Well when you make a decision, let me know so I can work on it on my end."

"I'm assuming Mr. Potter will need a passport?" Sharpclaw asked, and all four nodded in agreement. "I will have one made and mailed to you tomorrow. The fee is ten galleons as it will be a rush job." Harry agreed to the fee, and with no further business to accomplish today, Harry and the Grangers bid Mr. Grey and Sharpclaw goodbye, promising to write when they came to a decision.

-(=)-

Hermione and Harry lay on the floor of the Granger's living room with 'An Appraisal of Magical Education' opened in front of them. When they first reached Flourish and Blotts, Hermione was disappointed but not surprised to find that there were no books comparing the education of other countries on the shelves. When she asked the sales clerk about it, only after ensuring that they were alone did he tell her that the Ministry maintained a tight restriction on books assessing foreign schools, particularly if they made Hogwarts look bad. He was able to point her to another bookstore though that might be able to help her; the only problem was that it was in Knockturn Alley.

Deciding it was worth the risk, the Grangers and Harry ventured down the darker street until they came to a dodgy looking bookstore a few blocks into the darker shopping street. Hermione's quick browsing of the stacks was enough to tell her that the store was a treasure trove of books that the Ministry either frowned upon, or flat out banned; including the book that the two kids were currently reading. To Hermione's surprise and delight, the shopkeeper had no problem selling them a copy of the book or any other book she wanted, explaining that a number of muggleborns over the years had found their way into his store for this particular book, most likely for the same reason she wanted it.

After purchasing a few other books that the Ministry found questionable, including a language learning book, and a book on something called Occlumency that came recommended by the shop owner, the Grangers and Harry returned home.

"I think Beauxbatons sounds like a good choice." Harry said when he finished reading the section on said school. "They have far more classes to choose from than Hogwarts, and their ICW rating is the highest in Europe."

Hermione nodded in agreement. "I agree; though a lot of those classes are only for older students, they are still interesting to think about for later." Hermione eyed Harry, wondering how best to broach the subject she wanted to talk to Harry about. "Do you still think you will take Divination and Care of Magical Creatures if we go to Beauxbatons?"

Harry looked down at the book idly flipping the pages of the book. "I don't think so" Harry said. "After reading through what this book says about the different subjects and what they can be used for, I think I will take something else. I mean, how cool would it be to be able to make my own spell, or learn how to create and breakdown wards. I wish they gave us more of an explanation on the subjects instead of just giving us a list." Hermione smiled proudly at Harry, happy with his decision, but Harry didn't see it as he was still looking at the book. "Also, I've been thinking a lot about what you said last night. Back in primary school, I was, let's say discouraged from performing better than Dudley, and underperforming turned into a survival technique, and when I got to Hogwarts I guess I just continued. But now, I've come to realize that Tom, for whatever reason, is determined to kill me, and I need to prepare as best as I can. But most of all, I see how proud your parents are of you and I guess I just want both your parents and mine, wherever they are, to be proud of me too."

"That's great Harry; I know you're smart, and I think you will be wonderful at both those subjects. And with Ron not around to distract you, I'm sure you will have no problem." Hermione could see the blush of Harry's cheeks at her words as Harry focused on flipping through the pages, but didn't miss the small smile on his face also.

"Well, I did say that where you go I would go too, and I can't leave my best friend to brave all the hard classes alone now can I?" Hermione smiled and skootched closer to Harry, gathering her courage, and laced her fingers through Harry's free hand giving it a squeeze and leaned her head on his shoulder.

. "And I'm sure that your parents are proud of you, I know I am, and as long as you do your best, my parents will be also. You're growing into a wonderful man despite growing up in a place that, in a lot of cases, would have turned you into an angry, bitter person."

Hermione's parents picked that moment to walk into the living room, breaking the mood. "So what did you two decide?" Jane asked as both kids almost leaped apart. Hermione looked at her mum and saw a small smirk on her lips that promised a talk later.

Harry of course didn't notice anything, and answered "We both like Beauxbatons and think it will be best."

"We thought so too." Hermione's father agreed. "How about you write a letter to the Headmistress and see if we can arrange a visit while we are in France. We planned on leaving in two days." Hermione and Harry nodded, drawing out a fresh piece of parchment and quill, and wrote Madame Maxime before sending Hedwig on a long flight to France.

A/N longest chapter so far in the story, hope you enjoyed, let me know what you thought.


	4. Discovered

A/N Here is the next chapter all ready for you enjoyment. Thanks again to Matt2Parker for proofing this and like always, I make no money and own nothing.

Ch. 4 Discoveries

Albus Dumbledore entered his office after enjoying a nice leisurely breakfast, only to be welcomed by a cacophony of sound. Recognizing the source of the sound, Albus moved over to a spindly legged table which held a collection of silver instruments, each one a unique shape and size with a unique use that only he knew. Taking out his wand, he waved it over the one currently emitting a high pitch sound effectively silencing the annoying sound, allowing him to examine the silver device.

The device in question had one task: monitor the wards that Albus had established on Number 4 Privet Drive all those years ago. The device normally spun around on its base much like a top, with the speed in which it spun indicating the strength of the wards. Over the school year, the spinning had slowed down, showing the wards were weakening, but they should be strengthening now that young Harry was back with his family. Oh he had given up hope long ago that the wards would ever be at full strength with how Petunia felt about her nephew, but Albus felt that a little neglect was a small price to pay for Harry's ensured safety.

Seeing the small instrument lying on its side filled Albus with a sense of panic. The wards must have collapsed, and with them Harry's protection. Quickly looking over the other small devices, he let out a sigh of relief seeing that other instruments indicated that Harry was both alive, and unless Albus was mistaken, happier than he had been his whole life. Tapping one of the devices shaped like a compass, the needle swept south indicating that Harry was somewhere to the south of Hogwarts. He berated himself for not designing a better tracking device for the boy but he did his best with the limited time that he had. With the feelings of panic subsiding, Albus left his office and the castle to go investigate the happenings in Little Whinging.

After leaving the castle grounds, Albus spun on his heeled boots complete with silver buckles and apparated to an out of the way alley a few streets away from Privet Drive before walking to the home of Arabella Figg. After reaching the door, Albus gave the door a sharp knock and waited for his old friend to answer.

Albus didn't have to wait long, for only a minute later the door was opened and an old woman wearing wool slippers and a threadbare bathrobe opened the door and smiled at the man standing at the door. "Why Professor Dumbledore, what a pleasant surprise, please come in." She stepped aside and allowed Albus to enter her home. "Would you like a cup of tea?"

"No thank you Arabella, I'm afraid I'm not here for a social visit. I'm just here to check on young Harry."

A relieved look came over Arabella's face. "It's about time; I've been telling you for years how horrible those muggles treat that boy."

"I'm sure it's not that bad, they are his family after all," Albus replied waving off her concerns like he always had. "Have you seen them yet?"

"No, I only just returned from visiting my grandchildren up in York, and only returned last night. I spent the last few months there as I had no reason to stay here when Harry was at school. I so love spending time with my family and my kneazles enjoy the open space to roam."

Albus nodded absently only half listening to the old squib. He had listened to her complaints numerous times and had brushed them off each time as exaggerations from an old woman. Nodding his thanks he left the house and walked down the block to Number Four and when he reached the house, he found a group of muggles walking out the front door smiling and talking. It was a group of three with a young couple in their mid-twenties, Albus assumed, and an older woman dressed in what Albus took for a more formal suit that muggles were wearing these days. When he approached he caught a snippet of their conversation.

"The house is a perfect home for a growing family and the neighborhood is just wonderful. It has been on the market for a few months now, so I suspect we could offer less and have a good chance of an acceptance."

"Excuse me," Albus asked the older woman. "Did you say that the Dursleys are selling their house?"

The woman looked over, surprised to be interrupted, a look of shock marring the woman's face as she noticed what Albus was wearing. He cursed himself for not transfiguring the robes into something more muggle, but he was in a hurry. "Um, I'm not sure who you are talking about. I'm just a realtor and have no connection to the sellers; now if you will excuse us." The woman stepped around Albus and ushered her shocked clients to the car who kept shooting Albus curious looks.

"I'm not sure if this neighborhood is for us, if that's the type of people who live here," the man was saying as his companion nodded.

The Realtor took one more look at Albus before climbing into her car. "No worries, we can keep looking, you end up finding weirdos everywhere now a days."

"Now really, my clothes aren't that bad are they?" Albus muttered aloud taking in what he was wearing. True it wasn't his favorite robes with the moons and stars, but it was still a nice set of robes. They were a nice dark blue with silver accents that flowed nicely down to his shins barely showing off his shiny buckled boots. Shaking off these thoughts, Albus got back on track and walked up the garden path to the house. Sure enough, the house was completely empty and there was no sign of the Dursleys or Harry. 'Where could they have gone?' Albus thought.

Knowing he would get no answers from this house, he went next door and knocked on the door. Remembering the reaction he just received, he pulled out his wand and performed a quick transfiguration, altering his robes so they looked more like the clothes the man had worn. He was quite uncomfortable with the tightness of the pants, much preferring robes for their breathing space. A moment later the door opened a crack and a middle aged woman poked her head out.

"Can I help you?" she asked through the crack.

"Good evening, I was wondering if you could answer a few questions about one of your neighbors," Albus said while casting a slight confundus charm on the woman, making her more willing to talk. He watched as her eyes became unfocused before she nodded.

"Of course," she replied all suspicion leaving her eyes.

Albus smiled, appreciating how susceptible muggles were to mind magic. "I was wondering if you could tell me what happened to the Dursleys."

"Oh they moved a few months ago. I heard he was promoted and accepted a post across the pond. Good riddance if you ask me, their boy was a horrible bully."

"Did they take their nephew with them?"

"Not that I know of, but I'm not sure. I know he goes to some boarding school for criminals or something. Why he goes there I will never know as he is always so polite, and if anyone deserves that school, it's their boy."

"Do you remember what company Vernon works for?"

"I think it is Grunnings Drill Company."

Dumbledore nodded, already making plans on how to find both the Dursleys and Harry. "Thank you, you have been most helpful," he said as he turned and left, and after finding a secluded alley, apparated back to Hogwarts.

Back in his office, Albus was deep in thought pondering the situation he was in. If the neighbor was to be believed, the Dursleys had moved out of the country and were far out of Albus's reach, but he had to be sure. He cursed both Arabella and the Dursleys for screwing up his carefully laid plans. If Arabella had done her job, he would have known that the Dursleys were moving and could have taken steps to prevent their departure, but Arabella was away from her post and thus never knew they were moving. Now he needed to figure out where Harry was and figure out where to put him where he would both be safe and still under his influence.

Albus knew that Harry was still in England as his tracking device wouldn't work outside of the United Kingdom, and he hoped that he had gone to the Weasley's when his uncle had failed to collect him at the train station, but a quick floo call to Molly confirmed that the boy wasn't there, nor had he contacted any of her children yet. She promised to send him word immediately if any of her kids received mail from him and that Harry would always be welcome in her house when Albus found him.

Albus thanked the woman and promised that as soon as he found Harry, he would see that he came to the Burrow, as that fit completely into Albus's plans and would give young Miss Weasley a chance to catch his eye and hopefully form a relationship that would be much better than the alternative. After his call with Molly, he sent Fawkes with notes to certain people Albus could rely on for both their help and discretion, and he was expecting them shortly.

A knock on the door indicated that they had arrived and after checking his identifying charm, he bid them to enter. The door opened and Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody entered, followed by Emmeline Vance, and Mundungus Fletcher. Albus would have preferred to keep Mundungus out of this, but his choices were limited as he didn't want to involve any of his professors in the search yet and other members of the 'old crowd' were not discrete enough for this search.

"Thank you all for coming on such short notice. We have a little bit of a problem and I require your help. It seems that Young Mr. Potter has run away from home, and I need your help to track him down and return him to where he belongs."

Moody grunted "and do you have any idea where to search for the kid?"

"I know he is in England and his general direction." Albus indicated the small device on his desk still pointing south. "I believe that Harry is most likely in one of three places, Diagon Alley, muggle London, or at his friend Miss Granger's house."

"If he is in London, then it is unlikely we will be able to find him," Emmeline said as Albus raised his eyebrow in question. "Muggle London is huge with hundreds of thousands of people living there."

Albus nodded in concern. "He does not have any muggle money with him, so he will have to go to Gringotts to change money so I will put you into contact with my contact there. Mundungus, I would like you to watch Diagon Alley and see if he comes there. Alastor, I would like you to go check the Ministry and see if the trace can be used to find him. I would also like you to check his uncle's workplace and confirm something for me that I will tell you later. Emmeline, I would like you to go to the Grangers and see if he is there."

"Do you have the address for the Grangers?" Emmeline asked.

"Unfortunately only Minerva has that information, and I would like to keep her out of this as long as possible, so you will have to find her yourself. I'm sure that you are more than up to the challenge." Albus twinkled his eyes, smiling benignly at the half-blood Auror, knowing that she would do as asked. Each of the three searchers nodded and left the office leaving Albus alone with his thoughts. "Are you sure you cannot go find him my old friend?" he asked Fawkes, who was sitting preening his feathers on his perch, only to get the bird equivalent of a glare. The old phoenix had been more and more reluctant to help Albus over the last few years and Albus could not understand where this reluctance was coming from. After all, all he had done was for The Greater Good.

-(=)-

Dung walked into the dimly lit pub and approached Tom eyeing the crowd of early lunch patrons in the pub. "Morning Tom," he greeted the old publican. "I'm looking for someone on Dumbledore's orders, and was wondering if you could help me out." Tom made a motion indicating Dung to go on. "Ya see, it appears some kid has done a runner and Professor Dumbledore thinks he might have come here ya see. I was just wondering if you had any kids check in since the Express came by, most likely alone."

"Sorry Dung, I haven't had anybody new check in for a week, and especially not any Hogwarts kids." Dung cussed and ordered a drink along with the day's special for lunch. Taking a table in the corner, he took out his pipe and lit it and began puffing on the acrid smoke. Tom brought his food and left just as Dung noticed a family of four walk through the pub back to the muggle side. It looked like a muggleborn and their two children, a boy and a girl. The girl was obviously older as she was slightly taller than the boy, even with his funny hat with some sort of white rooster on the front. The family passed through the pub without a backward glance and Dung went back to his vigil hoping to spot a kid with black hair, green eyes, and a lightning bolt scar.

-(=)-

It had taken Emmeline the rest of the day to find an address for one Hermione Granger, and the better part of the next morning to find her house. She was now standing outside what she assumed to be a rather well-to-do neighborhood in Crawly, looking up at the house that the address had led her too. She had taken the precaution before apparating here to transfigure her Auror robes into clothes that wouldn't stand out so much in a muggle neighborhood, and approached the door. After giving the door a firm knock, she waited a few minutes, and when no one answered she tried again, and still no answer. She looked into the window and seeing the house deserted, decided to investigate. Pulling out her wand, Emmeline silently unlocked the door and entered the empty home.

Walking into the entry way, she heard an insistent beeping sound and followed it to a small box attached to the wall that seemed to be counting down. Though Emmeline was a half-blood and grew up in a mixed home, it had been years since she had lived in the muggle world and like most magic users, had not kept up with muggle technology, so she had no idea what this strange device was. She watched as the clock reached zero and had to cover her ears when it let out an ear splitting alarm. She quickly waved her wand and silenced the alarm, only to have to silence a telephone that began to ring on the wall in the kitchen. Confident that she had dealt with the alarms, she began to search the house looking for any sign of Potter.

-(=)-

A few miles away, Hermione was busy fingering through a selection of bikinis at the mall, while her mother was distracted in another part of the women's department, and Harry and her father were off in the boy's section. She was enjoying daydreaming about wearing a bikini like the ones she was looking at while lying on beach next to a certain green eyed wizard. Of course she knew that she probably would never catch his eye, as why would he ever fall for a bushy haired bucktoothed bookworm. She sighed and put the bikini back on the rack. She had started to develop, true, but she knew that she didn't have the requisite curves yet to pull of one of these small bikinis.

"I don't think neither Harry nor you are anywhere close to wearing that young lady." Her mother's voice said from behind, making Hermione jump nearly a foot in the air.

Hermione tried to fight down the rising flush on her cheeks as she turned to her mother. "I don't know what you're talking about mother; Harry and I are just friends."

"Oh of course you are dear, at least right now you are. But can you look me in the eye and tell me you don't fancy your best friend." Hermione tried, she really did, but all she could do was let out a huff in frustration and turn away from her mum, and move on to more conservative bathing costumes. "Oh don't be like that Hermione, a mother can tell these things. I mean, every letter you have written to us over the last two years was all about Harry. I swear, me and your father knew as much about him as you did before we even met him. Don't try to deny it sweetie, I see the way you look at him."

Hermione let out a frustrated growl. "There is nothing to tell, and even if I did fancy my best friend, I doubt Harry sees me that way anyways."

"Well of course not dear, he is a twelve year old boy who has been severely emotionally stunted. If he feels anything, and I'm pretty sure he does, he most likely doesn't understand what he is feeling. The poor boy has seen little love in his life as it is, something your father and I hope to rectify."

"So what should I do?" Hermione asked quietly.

"Just be his friend for now and take things slow. Keep doing what you're doing with the little touches, as it seems like he enjoys those from the small indications we've seen over the last few days. I think Harry relies on you quite a bit, and not just for your brain."

Before Hermione could reply, an excited and happy Harry came up to the two women. "Hey Mione guess what, we went to an eye doctor and had my eyes looked at. He said that I will be able to get contacts so I no longer need to wear my glasses."

Hermione smiled back, caught up in his excitement. "That's great Harry. What else did you get?"

"I got a lot of stuff, some new shoes, shirts, some jeans, and even a swimming costume." Harry's face colored and he looked at his feet. "Only, I don't really know how to swim."

"That's okay Harry, I can teach you how to swim before we go to France, and then we can swim in the Mediterranean Sea when we go to the beach."

"Well, I think we have everything we need" Hermione's mum said, consulting another one of her lists. "Let's go check out and head to lunch. What are you feeling like Harry?"

Hermione watched as Harry and her mum walked towards the cash register talking about where to eat while her and her father followed a little ways behind.

"So how did everything go" Hermione asked her dad.

Hugh smiled fondly at Harry's back. "I have never seen a boy so happy to go shopping before. I should have let your mum help him, as he wore me out, but it did gave us time to talk. He seems like a good kid with a good heart, even after all he has gone through." Hugh gave Hermione a mischievous smile. "Of course, his favorite subject seemed to be anything involving you. Anything you want to tell me young lady? Do I need to give him my shovel talk?" Hermione's face turned crimson and she pretended to ignore her father. Before he could tease her more, her father's mobile phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and flipped it open, answering the call. "Hello?" Hermione couldn't hear what was being said from the other side of the call, but she knew it was bad, as her father's face became grim. "Yes, please call the police and tell them we will meet them at the house."

Her father quickly caught up to her mother at the register and she noticed his worried look. "What's wrong Hugh?" Hermione's mum asked.

"Our security system company just called, as it appears someone tripped the alarm and didn't enter in the code or answer the phone. They have called the police and they are already in route to the house."


	5. Aftermath

A/N Sorry for the long delay in posting this chapter, especially since I sort of left it on a cliff hanger. But here it is so please enjoy. It has been brought up that Beauxbatons is an All-Girl School. That might be true in the movie, but the movie was WRONG. The book has boy students as seen in the Yule Ball where Padma and Pavarti go dance with French boys. Ok, rant over now on with the show. thanks to my Beta Matt2Parker again for a quick turn around and I own nothing and make no money.

Ch. 5 Aftermath

Emmeline wandered through the Granger home searching for any sign of Harry Potter. Deciding that she would start from the top and work her way down, she moved upstairs and entered the last bedroom at the end of the hall. The room was quite large and held a large king sized bed with matching furniture arranged around the room. She noticed an en suite bathroom extending off of the room and came to the conclusion that this was the master bedroom.

The next room she found was obviously a girl's room, albeit a rather bookish girl, if the three large bookcases filled with books sitting along the walls were any indication. 'This must be the Granger girl's room' she thought to herself. She could see spell books, ink, and parchment littering the desk. There was even a moving photograph of a girl with brown bushy hair hugging a black haired boy, both smiling in Hogwarts robes. Approaching the desk, she began to shuffle through the parchment.

Finding nothing but summer homework, she left the room and crossed the hall to what she assumed to be the guest room. Entering the room, she could tell she had found what she was looking for. All the photos in the house only contained the girl, so Emmeline knew that the Grangers only had one child, but this room obviously contained another kid. The room was spotlessly clean but Emmeline's well trained eyes caught signs that someone lived here. The dirty clothes hamper was half full, of what looked to be rather old boy clothes that seemed to be no more than rags, parchment was neatly stacked on the desk with half-finished essays written on them, and an empty owl cage sat in the corner.

Emmeline opened the closet and found a few sets of Hogwarts robes hanging inside, and moving the clothes aside, she found a large Hogwarts Trunk sitting on the floor with the initials HJP engraved on the latch. Smiling triumphantly, she opened the trunk and began to rummage through the trunk in order to insure that it was the HJP she was looking for. It wouldn't do to take Dumbledore bad information after all. Emmeline pulled out a leather bound photo album and began to flip through the pictures, a fond smile forming on her lips as she looked at the pictures of James and Lily Potter, recognizing some of the pictures she sent Hagrid a few years ago.

James and Lily had been dear friends of hers during their time in the Order, and she became especially close to Lily after her parents died, as Emmeline's age allowed her to help compensate for the loss of Lily's mother. She had even been selected as one of Lily's bridesmaids along with Alice Longbottom during her wedding. While many people in the wizarding world were out celebrating, she had spent the evening mourning her departed friends. She had even tried to gain custody of Harry after their death, but Dumbledore assured her that he was safest where he was. Trusting in Dumbledore's word, she let Harry be and hoped one day to meet him again.

Emmeline felt her blood run cold and her face contort in rage as she came across the pictures of James and Lily's wedding. She saw her younger self standing next to a beautiful and smiling Lily still in her full wedding regalia with James on her arm. Next to him, laughing and slapping James on the back, stood Sirius Black. Emmeline felt the urge to take her wand and blast him out of the picture, but restrained herself not wanting to deprive Harry of such a nice picture of his parents. Breathing deeply, she closed the photo album and replaced it in the trunk. Her work done, she turned and left the room and walked downstairs. Emmeline glanced out the front window as she walked by and noticed that while she was reminiscing over the photos, a number of strangely painted cars had pulled up on the street, each one with lights on their roofs.

Even though she was considered a half-blood, the old Auror had lived most of her life in the wizarding world, making only small incursions into the muggle world for her work or with Lily back in the seventies, and didn't recognize the muggle police cars for what they were. Shaking her head at the strange things muggles thought up, she headed to the back door. As Emmeline approached the back door, she heard noises coming from the other side of the door and a silhouette of a man appeared in the fogged window. Deciding that perhaps it would do to forgo manners this time, she prepared to apparate away, but it was too late as the back door burst in with five men streaming inside.

Emmeline reacted on instinct raising her wand and sending stunners at the quickly approaching men. She had managed to hit three of them before she was tackled from behind and her wand wrestled out of her hand. "You are being arrested for breaking and entering, and for assaulting an officer of the law," said the muggle slapping the manacles on her. "You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defense if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you say may be given in evidence." Emmeline was roughly lifted to her feet and led out the front door. Outside, she saw a large number of people standing around, and in the front she recognized Harry Potter standing next to a slightly taller brown haired girl between two adults. She turned her head away, unable to bear the accusations she saw in Lily's eyes'.

-(=)-

Hermione sat in the back seat of the car holding Harry's hand, both for her reassurance, and his. Her father had been on the phone almost constantly since he had received the call from the security company informing him that someone had tripped the alarm in their home. "I swear," Hermione's father murmured to himself from the front passenger seat of their car as he waited on hold to talk to the police. "We've lived in the neighborhood for almost fifteen years now, and not once has there been a break in."

Hermione was thinking the same thing, as her neighborhood had always been rather safe, when she saw Harry's face pale. He looked over to Hermione with eyes wide. "You don't think they are looking for me do you Mione? Dumbledore claimed that I had to live with the Dursleys because it was 'safe' there when I asked if I could go somewhere else." Hermione's mind connected the dots also and she leaned forward getting her father's attention.

"Daddy, what if they are after Harry?" she told him quickly.

"Why would they be after Harry" he asked in confusion. Hermione quickly explained about what Dumbledore had said about Harry's safety, and that some people in their world might want to hurt Harry. "Okay Princess, better safe than sorry." The police must have finally answered, as her father went back to talking on his phone. "Yes, we were notified that our house was broken into and by our security company, this is Hugh Granger at Number 52 Westerly Road." He paused listening to the voice on the other side. "Yes that's us. We currently have a guest staying with us who has had death threats sent to him and we are concerned that this might be related to our break in." Again he paused. "Thank you, and tell them to be safe." He closed the phone and returned it to his pocket. "They said they will take all necessary precautions when apprehending the intruder and informed me that we might need a new door."

Jane nodded from the driver's seat, her face full of concern. A few blocks from the house, they were stopped by a police car and after identifying themselves were escorted the rest of the way, where they waited behind the police line and watched a group of officers approach the front door. Hermione winced as they kicked the door down, and when she saw flashes of red light through the window, she knew Harry had been right. "That's spell fire," Harry quietly said beside her. "I think those are stunning spells."

"At least they are only stunners," Hermione said. "If they were really Voldemort's followers, they would probably be using lethal spells. They watched as a few minutes later, a woman was led out of the house in handcuffs between three policemen, her head bowed. As she was led to the car, she turned her head and Hermione got a good look at her. She was an older woman with greying hair down to her shoulders, probably a good two decades older than her mum.

The police chief approached the small group. "Do you recognize her" he asked. Hermione shook her head as did her parents.

"I think I do." Harry said. "I think she was one of my parent's friends, at least I think she was. She is a bit younger in the picture though as it was taken over fourteen years ago so I can't be sure." The constable nodded.

"The only thing she had on her was this stick thing that my men say shot red light at them hitting three of them. They seem to have been stunned somehow and won't wake up. Other than that they are okay. My men are finishing up now and it seems that she was looking for something or someone. Thank you for the heads up, normal procedure is to send only two men in, but since we sent in more, we were able to arrest her."

"Thank you Constable," Hermione's dad said shaking the police officer's hand before he walked away.

-(=)-

Three hours later, Emmeline was still sitting in the interrogation room the police had left her in. They had taken her fingerprints and picture then left, returning periodically to ask a few basic questions like who are you, and what were you doing in the Granger home, all of which she refused to answer. She sat in the uncomfortable chair; her hands still cuffed, and thought of her situation and wondered how she was going to get out of it. She knew her wand was locked up somewhere, but she had no idea where, and the last time she had seen it was when a detective had asked her what it was and how it had knocked out three of the police officers. Again she didn't say anything, just stared at the table until the man got frustrated and left.

Emmeline looked up when she heard the door open again, and knew that she was in deep trouble when Amelia Bones sat down on the other side of the table dressed much like the other police officers she had seen. Emmeline dropped her eyes, unable to meet her boss's angry and disappointed eyes. "Care to explain yourself Miss Vance?" Madam Bones said in a deceptively calm voice. Emmeline knew she was screwed, as Madam Bones only used that tone when she was REALLY mad. When she yelled, she was only slightly annoyed, but when her voice turned cold and calm like it was now, the Auror on the other end of that voice knew they were in real trouble. When the silence stretched on, Madam Bones grew impatient. Emmeline shot a glance at the video camera and the mirror she suspected was see through, not wanting to say anything in front of the muggles. "Do not worry about being overheard. I was able to pull some stings and get some privacy. Imagine my surprise when I get an urgent message from the Minister of Magic demanding my presence in his office, only to be informed that the Muggle Prime Minister is demanding to know why one of MY Aurors was arrested for breaking and entering and assaulting three Police Officers."

Emmeline looked up in surprise at how quick word had gotten out. Madam Bones laughed darkly with no humor at Emmeline's surprise. "Wizards and Witches constantly underestimate our non-magical neighbors Vance. When they took your fingerprints and picture, they entered them into one of their computer things and that triggered something at the Home Office. Long story short, The Prime Minister was informed, and he demanded answers from Fudge, and thus me. So now I am demanding answers from you; what in the Bloody Hell were you doing breaking into a Muggleborn's house and attacking three Police officers?"

Seeing no way out of the situation, she decided honesty was the best answer. She told Madam Bones about Dumbledore asking for her help in tracking down Harry Potter, as he had 'runaway' from his guardians' home. When she was done, Madam Bones removed her monocle and sighed tiredly. "I can't believe that you let Dumbledore talk you into doing something completely illegal, all to search for one person. I thought you were smarter than that Vance. Hell, you've been an Auror almost as long as I have, you should know better."

Emmeline shrugged. "It was Dumbledore though, and I just wanted to help find Harry. I've never been given the chance to see him since before James and Lily died, and I guess I just jumped at the chance to see him and help him."

Madam Bones's eyes softened slightly. "I understand Emmeline, but you can't let Dumbledore play on your emotions like that." Emmeline nodded, ashamed. "There isn't a lot I can do for you other than talk to the Grangers and ask not to press charges."

Emmeline looked up in surprise. "Can't you get me out of here boss? A few memory charms and confundus charms and I can walk right out."

Bones's eyes hardened again. "No, even if I could I wouldn't. You are in their computers now, and I cannot erase the records of your arrest. If I tried, the Prime Minister would complain, and rightly so. Our magic does not put us above the law of the land, even if some of us have forgotten that." Madam Bones snarled at nothing in particular. "No you will have to deal with the consequences of your actions and take it as a lesson to not listen to conniving old men." Madam Bones rose from the chair and left without a backwards glance. A few minutes later, two officers entered the room and escorted a resigned Emmeline to a holding cell to await her fate.

-(=)-

Things had settled down for the most part at the Granger's house hours after the police had let them back into their home. Hermione noticed though, that not everything was back to normal though. Her father had taken to placing two of his golf clubs next to both the front door, and the back door, along with one in easy reach of his chair in the living room. Her mother had gone through the whole house inspecting every detail, ensuring herself everything was still there, and Harry had slipped back into his 'it's all my fault' mode, where he was blaming himself for the events of the afternoon. The only thing that anybody found out of place was Harry and Hermione's homework, and Harry's trunk seemed to have been rifled through.

On her father's suggestion, Harry had written a letter to Mister Grey, asking if he could come by, and three hours after the intruder was led away, Mister Grey knocked on the repaired front door. Hermione saw her father gripping his golf club tightly as he peered out the peep hole, and once he was assured that it was Mister Grey, he opened the door allowing the solicitor to enter. "Good evening Mister Granger," Grey greeted. "I understand you had a little bit of excitement today."

"You can say that," her father replied, shaking the solicitor's offered hand. "Please come in." He led him into the sitting room where Harry, Hermione, and her mother were waiting.

After greetings were exchanged, Hermione's father told Mister Grey about what had happened during the day and Harry's suspicion that he recognized the woman who was led away. "Do you have the picture Mister Potter?"

Harry nodded and handed the photo album over to Mister Grey, already open to the page with his parents wedding photo. "Ah yes, this is Miss Emmeline Vance. She was a friend of your parents and was your mother's bridesmaid during their wedding. She is an Auror for the ministry though, so I don't understand why she would be breaking into your home." Harry opened his mouth to ask a question, probably what an Auror was, Hermione guessed, only to be answered by Mister Grey who must have assumed the same thing. "An Auror is sort of like a Detective. They investigate crimes and track down criminals."

Mister Grey was about to say more when another knock came from the door. Hermione was thankful that the door wasn't as damaged as they thought it would be, and was still able to be closed and locked as her father again held the golf club as he looked through the door. Hermione saw a look of confusion appear on his face as he opened the door a crack. He said something to the person standing on the other end of the door and whatever their answer was must have been satisfactory, as he opened the door the rest of the way, but still held onto the golf club. A few minutes later he led an older woman into the sitting room, her grey hair tied in a tight bun, reminding Hermione vaguely of Professor McGonagall, but with a monocle resting in her eye. The new arrival wore a stern expression that only shifted to surprise when she saw Mister Grey sitting there.

"Ah Madam Bones," Mister Grey said, rising from his chair, his face and tone all business. "I do hope that you are here to explain to my clients why one of YOUR Aurors broke into their house without a warrant."

Madam Bones looked to be off balance, surprised at finding Mister Grey here. "Mister Grey, I am surprised to see you here," she noticed Harry sitting between Hermione and her mum, "Then again, considering who else is staying here, maybe I shouldn't be."

Mister Grey only raised an eyebrow, still waiting for her answer. Hermione noticed that Madam Bones quickly regained her balance, "I guess I should introduce myself first, I am Amelia Bones, the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Emmeline Vance was not working in her capacity as an Auror, and my department had no part of this crime."

"So it was Miss Vance," Grey said as he sat down again. "Good eye's Mister Potter." Hermione saw Harry smile and blush at the praise.

"Yes, well," Amelia said absently. "It appears that Miss Vance was told that Mister Potter had run away from his guardians by Headmaster Dumbledore, and was 'recruited' to help find him. Her mission was to find you so that you could be returned to your guardians."

Everyone in the room minus Harry and Madam Bones became angry at hearing the headmaster's intentions. Harry was nervous while Madam Bones was just confused. "Okay, what did I miss?" She asked, noticing the change in the room.

Hermione's dad was the one who answered for the group. "After Harry and Hermione got off the train from Hogwarts, it became apparent that Harry's _relatives_ were not coming to pick him up." Hugh said, venom lacing his voice when he mentioned the Dursleys. "So like any good person would do, we offered to give him a ride home, only to get to his home and find the place empty." He took a few deep breaths, trying to gain control of his temper. "So you see Madam Bones, Harry didn't run away from his _relatives,_ they abandoned him. Since then, we have taken him into our home and offered to be his guardians."

"And on that point," Mister Grey said reaching into his suit pulling out an envelope and handing it to Hermione's father. "Here are Harry's guardianship papers for the muggle world and his travel documents. I only got them back today, and was going to bring them by tomorrow. All it needs is your signature. I have already filed the paper work to take over as both Harry and Hermione's Magical Guardian, so we are covered on that end."

Hermione grinned happily at Harry, who was wearing a matching smile. Her father took the papers from Mister Grey and, finding a pen, quickly signed the documents. "Welcome to the family son," Hugh said as both Hermione's mum and dad came over and enveloped both Harry and Hermione in a hug. Hermione could feel Harry stiffen up, but quickly relax into the hug, causing her to squeeze tighter.

"I see," Madam Bones said nodding. "I just came by to apologize for the actions of one of my Aurors and to assure you that my department had nothing to do with this." She paused and Hermione could tell she was a bit hesitant to bring up her next point. "I also would like to ask you to not press charges against Miss Vance. Yes she broke into your home, and I assure you she will be punished severely for that no matter what you decide, but she did it under the wrong information, trying to help the child of two of her old friends. Dumbledore is the real person to blame for all this, as he most likely knew the Dursleys had left but neglected to mention that to Miss Vance, and played on her emotions to get her to do something that normally she wouldn't have done."

Hermione's parents shared an unreadable glance with each other, but Hermione couldn't interpret what was said. "We will have to think about it Madam Bones. We are leaving in a few days for vacation though, and according to the police, the trial won't take place until we return. At the very least, we think she can sit in jail that long. We will let our solicitor know our decision when we make one." Madam Bones nodded as if expecting no less. Saying goodnight,, she turned and left. Mister Grey stayed for a few minutes longer before he too made his farewells and left, but not before advising the Grangers that Dumbledore wouldn't be so easily stopped, and maybe they should talk to the Goblins about setting up some wards, eliciting nods from Hermione's parents.


	6. France

A/N Sorry about the delay in posting but real life got in the way and I am a little backlogged. Anyways, here is the next chapter ready for your enjoyment.

Ch. 6 France

Albus Dumbledore sat in his office, idly sucking on a lemon drop, when his identifying ward was triggered, indicating that Alastor was on his way up to his office. At the sound of a sharp knock, he bade his old friend to enter while mentally smiling at the small touches that helped in his image. The large oak door swung open as Alastor Moody limped in, his wooden leg making a loud clunk sound at each step.

"Ah Alastor, wonderful to see you, would you care for a lemon drop," Albus asked, letting his eyes twinkle to mask his impatience. It had been three days since anyone other than Mundungus had reported not to have seen Harry, and Albus was desperate for any information. "Did you have any trouble tracking down the information?"

Moody only grunted as he took a seat in front of the desk, his magical eye whirling in circles. "It was child's play really. I found your information the first day; I just needed to confirm some facts." Dumbledore raised an eyebrow inviting Alastor to continue. "First of all, it appears that Vernon Dursley was offered a promotion and relocated to Australia. Apparently there is a big event happening there in a few years that will require a lot of construction and his company is involved somehow. From what I found out, he and his wife moved in March and their son joined them after the school term ended. There was no mention of a nephew, and I got the distinct impression that no one even knew he existed."

A lesser man would have scowled, but Albus prided himself on his emotional control and contented himself with a simple nod. "That is a quite the large inconvenience. Someone will have to go and find the Dursleys and 'convince' them to move back. Once they are back, I should be able to restore the wards." Albus leaned back in his chair and ran his hands through his beard. "We also still have to find Harry, as I'm sure that he is distraught at not knowing where his family is."

Albus looked up sharply at Moody's derisive snort. "I doubt after what has happened the kid will be going back to the Dursleys."

"What do you mean," Albus asked in confusion. "I'm sure that he is worried about his family. I hope Miss Vance will report back soon that she has found Harry at the Grangers."

Again Moody let out another snort. "I doubt she will be reporting to you for the next two to three years if what I've heard is any indication. I received a call from Amelia yesterday asking me to look into something for her off the record. Apparently Emmeline was arrested by the muggle police for breaking and entering, and attacking three of the Bobbies. The Prime Minister is royally pissed and is 'throwing the book at her' as the muggles say."

"Why is this the first I've heard of this?" Albus asked, his eyes wide and his white eye brows lost in his whispy white hair . His eyes and ears had not reported any of this to him.

"The Minister is keeping a tight lid on this as the Prime Minister has refused to even talk to him about the issue."

"But I'm sure this is just a misunderstanding, all she was doing was looking for a wayward child."

"Not according to the child, his guardians, or his solicitor. She broke into a house without a warrant and then attacked three police officers. Even if the Grangers drop the charge of breaking and entering, which, according to their solicitor is unlikely, Vance would still be facing some jail time."

"Ah, so Mister Potter is at the Grangers. Wonderful, I guess I will just have to do this myself. Young Harry must return to his relatives." Albus said, the comment on guardians and solicitors not registering in his excitement to find Harry. He began to rise but was stopped by Moody's harsh laugh.

"That is as likely as the Cannon's winning the league this year Albus. That's the reason it's taken me a few days to get back to you. Bones called me and asked me to investigate some claims that the Grangers made in regards to Potter" Alastor's good eye narrowed and his voice dropped dangerously. "Did you know that that boy was being abused by the Dursleys?"

Albus waved his hand absently. "I'm sure it wasn't that bad Alastor, after all, they are family."

"Albus, you need to take your head out of your arse and look at the real world. People can be right bastards sometimes, even to their own family. You fought through two wars, so you of all people should know that." Albus had the decency to flinch at that. He did know that people could make some large mistakes, but he believed that even the worst could be redeemed, and he said as much to Moody only to have received another snort from the old Auror. "We will never agree to this old argument so let's not start it again. Anyways, taking into consideration that the Dursleys up and abandoned their nephew alone would disqualify them to remain as his guardians, but then I got a look around their house. From what I was able to ascertain, the kid was kept in a small cupboard under the stairs for a good portion of his life. The residual magic localized in the small space shows that he has used large amounts of magic over many years. Also the words 'Freak's Room' later changed to 'Harry's Room' were scratched into the top of the cupboard."

Albus had steadily paled as Alastor's explanation went on. He knew that Petunia would never love the boy like her own, but he had hoped she would have been able to see past her jealousy of his mother and at least treat the boy well. He just couldn't imagine a family member being treated like that by their own blood. "With the amount of magic that permeated the cupboard, on a hunch, I did a scan for old blood and found a lot of it, all from the same person and all containing the same magical signature, matching the magic from inside the cupboard. Whatever those bastards did to that boy, it left him bleeding and his magic was forced to heal him."

"Who else have you told about this?" Albus asked quietly fearing the answer.

"I told Madam Bones of course, and she is pissed at you. Apparently she knows that you were his Magical Guardian and have done a shitty job of it."

"What do you mean 'were', I should still be."

"Not anymore; it seems that when his relatives abandoned him, the Grangers took him in and filed the paper work to be his official Guardians at Gringotts. The Potter solicitor found out and pulled a few strings to cut through all the red tape, as it seems the Dursleys never filed for official guardianship status. He also took over as the Magical Guardian for both the Granger girl and Potter."

Albus put his head in his hands and shook it. This was bad. Mr. Grey never did like Dumbledore, and it only became worse ever since he had sealed the Potter Wills and tried to replace him. Not letting Grey know where Harry was didn't help their relationship either, and after it was clear that he couldn't be replaced, Dumbledore just ignored him. "I must speak with the Grangers, they must switch back Harry's Magical Guardianship to me." Dumbledore made to rise from his chair only to be stopped by Moody.

"They left the country this morning for a vacation and I'm not sure where or when they will be back." Albus sat back down in his seat frowning, his mind starting to come up with ways to get Harry back under his control again. He was so lost in thought, that he did not see Alastor leave his office, or the baleful looks he was receiving from Fawkes.

-(=)-

Two days after the break-in Hermione was roused from a Harry filled dream by her father. Half asleep, she dressed in a pair of comfy pajama pants and a jumper before trudging down the stairs and climbing into the car. She sat next to Harry, who in Hermione's opinion was far too awake and happy for being awake in the predawn hours. As her father backed the car out of the garage, Hermione immediately went back to sleep using Harry as her pillow, and only woke up when they pulled onto the ferry that would take them across the Channel to Calais. Part of Hermione wanted to stay asleep, but Harry was far too excited to stay in the car, and his excitement drew her out of her sleep and the two explored the ship and watched the waves crash against the hull. Despite her lack of sleep, Hermione couldn't help but smile at how everything excited Harry, as it was all a new experience for her best friend.

After passing through customs, and leaving the ferry terminal, her father drove south, stopping at a small hamlet to buy petrol and some breakfast. They ended up bypassing Paris this time, explaining that they would come back through on the way home and stay for a few days. After what felt like forever to Hermione, and a few stops for petrol and food, they finally arrived at their hotel in Nice, and it was a travel weary Granger family plus a Potter who checked into their room. The next morning after a late breakfast, they made their way to the beach, hoping to soak up some of the warm Mediterranean Sun and just relax after the excitement of the last few days. Once at the beach, Hermione quickly shrugged off her outer layer, leaving just her periwinkle blue swimsuit, and ran laughing into the water diving head first into the warm water, leaving Harry to follow at a more sedate pace behind her while her parents set up lounge chairs and pulled out books.

Hermione's head emerged from the azure waters of the Mediterranean Sea, a large smile on her face and her frizzy hair plastered against her head. After wiping the water and hair out from her eyes, she looked around and spotted her prey. Taking a deep breath, she dove back under water and began to propel herself along the rocky sea floor towards her target. With her eyes open underwater, she could just make out the blurry form of two skinny legs with a red swimsuit starting just below the knees, standing in shallower water. When she was only a few feet away, she gathered her feet under her and shot herself up and forward out of the water arcing past her best friend like a dolphin. She turned around and swam slowly back her head above water, her smile matched by her best friend.

"This is great Mione, I've never been to the beach before," Harry said when she was closer. "Though, I was expecting there to be more sand than rocky."

"It is, we've been coming here for years, but this is the best time I've had, as usually it's just been my mum and dad with me, and they don't really like to swim much. The Mediterranean beaches are mostly rock. For sandy beaches, we need to head to the ocean."

"I didn't realize you were so good at swimming," Harry complimented.

"Years of carrying around a lot of books have given me good shoulder strength," she said smiling. "Plus, I just love the water. Are you ready for your first lesson?" Harry looked at her nervously, but nodded none the less. Over the next few hours, Hermione instructed Harry in the finer points of swimming. Starting with floating, before moving on to the different strokes, treading water, and how to breathe. They only stopped when they heard her mother call from the beach that it was time for lunch.

On the beach the two kids sprawled out on beach towels, letting the warm sun dry them off while they munched on a lunch of baguette sandwiches and fruit. Hermione was glad that this was one of the more 'conservative' beaches of Nice, as the area catered to mostly British and American tourists, thus keeping some of the exhibitionists away. Hermione had ended up wearing her new swimsuit that she bought on their last shopping trip, and though it wasn't as risqué as the small bikinis her mother had caught her looking at, it was still a two piece and went a long way in showing that she was developing curves, and to her immense pleasure, she had caught Harry numerous times noticing said curves. Of course she also noticed that his eyes were sometimes drawn to a few of the older women at the beach who wore far more skimpier outfits, but she put that down to teenage hormones and tried not to be too self-conscious, as his eyes would always return to her.

"So what's the plan," Harry asked between bites of his sandwich, breaking her out of her thoughts.

"Well, we are meeting with the Beauxbatons Headmistress tomorrow at Café Arcane which is the Nice equivalent to the Leaky Cauldron. According to her letter, she will then take us to Beauxbatons for a tour of the school and we can discuss classes and maybe attending in the fall. I guess what we do after depends on what we decide after the tour."

Harry nodded his forehead furroring in a look Hermione had come to associate with Harry worrring.. "I feel kind of bad, with all that has been going on, I haven't written to Ron yet."

"In all fairness though, he hasn't written to us either," Hermione said evenly, trying not to let on how she really felt about the red head. "I'm sure he will be angry when he finds out we are switching schools, but if he really is our friend, he will understand." Hermione didn't believe that he would, and expected the fall out to be spectacular. Harry nodded slowly, finishing the last few bites of his sandwich. Seeing him finished, Hermione jumped to her feet and grabbed Harry's hand and pulled him up and began to drag him towards the water.

"Wait Mione, aren't we supposed to wait 45 minutes after eating before we go swimming?" Harry asked as he let himself be pulled along by the hand.

"Of course not silly, that's just an urban legend, now come on it's time to play Marco Polo." The two kids spent the rest of the day splashing around the water just enjoying their vacation.

-(=)-

The next morning, the group was standing outside the Café Arcane a few blocks off the high street, looking dubiously at the rundown building. "Are you sure this is the place Harry?" Jane asked.

"This is where the directions Madam Maxime gave us led to." He replied, shrugging his shoulders and lifting the letter in his hand. He approached the door and reached out to push it open. "I guess there is just one way to find out." When his hand came in contact with the door, it passed right through. "Hmmm, I think it's just like Platform 9 ¾" Harry said as he stepped the rest of the way through, followed closely by Hermione and her parents.

Where the Leaky Cauldron's inside matched the outside, The Café Arcane's interior was the complete opposite from the exterior. The dingy rundown look of the outside opened up to a large, well-lit cafe, complete with numerous tables and chairs for patrons to eat and relax. Harry even noticed a door leading to the back garden, complete with patio that held a handful of witches and wizards drinking what he assumed to be coffee while reading the newspaper. The smell of fresh baked pastries and roasted espresso wafted through the air, creating a welcoming environment that the Leaky Cauldron lacked.

"Bon jour," a woman the size of Hagrid greeted in a strong French accent, standing off to the side of the door. "I assume that you would be Mister Potter and the Grangers?" at the nods the woman smiled pleasantly. "Bon, I am Madam Maxime, the Headmistress of Beauxbatons. It is a pleasure to meet you." She shook hands, dwarfing each hand in hers. "I took the liberty of getting a private room for our discussion, and ordered us a light breakfast so that we can talk before we go to the school."

She motioned to a hallway that split off from the main dining area and led them to a small room, where a light French breakfast was waiting for them. Taking a seat around the table, everyone helped themselves to the fresh baked croissants, jam, cheese, and fruit.

"I must admit, I was quite surprised to read your letter." Madam Maxime commented after wiping her mouth with a large napkin. "We do not often get transfer students from England, especially first generation witches and wizards. I was especially surprised that you are looking to transfer Mister Potter. From what I know, the Potters have attended Hogwarts since its founding."

Harry mentally filed away that small tidbit of information on his family, while at the same time fighting down the feelings of guilt for breaking such a long chain. Giving his head a slight shake, he focused on the conversation at hand. Hugh was telling Madam Maxime how they came to their decision to send Hermione and Harry, as he was now their ward, to another school that was safer. When asked what do you mean safer, Hugh looked to Harry and Hermione inviting them to tell the woman about their first two years at school.

After an hour, Madam Maxime was pinching the bridge of her nose. "Let me see if I understand you," she said trying to control her temper. "Your first year your Defense teacher was possessed by Voldemort, and he nearly killed you four times, and the second year a giant basilisk was loose in the school and you killed it?" Harry nodded causing Madam Maxime to start sputtering angrily in French. Confused, he looked to Hermione for an explanation only to see her looking both mortified and on the brink of laughter. Knowing he wasn't going to get anything out of her, he turned to Hugh and Jane who were also fluent in French, both with the same expression on their face.

After a few minutes, Madam Maxime was able to regain her composure. "That was about our reaction too when the kids finally told us two weeks ago," Hugh said, still smiling. "When we learned how many times the kids came close to dying, without so much as a note from the school, we knew we needed to look at another option."

Madam Maxime looked even more shocked. "The school did not tell you your daughter was in the hospital wing petrified?"

Jane shook her head. "No, apparently as 'muggles' they did not deem it necessary to inform us, as we can't even see the school and can't possibly understand." Harry could hear the sarcasm dripping from each word.

"Well that's just plain stupid. Beauxbatons has no restrictions about first born parents coming to the school, and it is school policy to inform the guardians of all trips to the infirmary." Both Hugh and Jane smiled and nodded at this, and Harry knew that Beauxbatons was already ahead of Hogwarts in their book. Madam Maxime took out a large pocket watch and started at seeing the time. "How about we continue this discussion at Beauxbatons? I have arranged for a tour with some of our teachers, and we seem to be running slightly behind." At everyone's nod, Madam Maxime reached into her pocket again and pulled out a length of rope. "We are going to portkey to the school. It is one of the few ways to reach the school, as it is deep in the Pyrenees Mountains. If you decide to attend, your parents will be given a reusable portkey if they need to visit." The Grangers and Harry looked at the rope uncertainly. Madam Maxime must have noticed their confusion. "It is quite simple, you simply touch the portkey, and when you say the password, it activates and takes you to the destination."

Hugh laughed as he reached for the rope. "Is the password 'beam me up Scotty'?"

Jane and Hermione both laughed with their father while Harry and Madam Maxime looked on in confusion. Hermione leaned closer to Harry. "Remind me to sit you down and introduce you to Star Trek when we get home." She whispered. Harry had heard about the show before, but never watched it. Catching Hermione's eye, he nodded excitedly while smiling. When everyone had a hold of the portkey, Madam Maxime said "School" and the rope began to glow blue. At the same time, Harry felt like he was hooked behind his naval and yanked forward as the Café Arcane disappeared in a swirl of color.

-(=)-

Hundreds of miles away, Minister Fudge strolled through the halls Azkaban Prison, at least, as much as one can 'stroll' through the utterly depressing island in the middle of the North Sea. "I think this is the worst part of my job," he grumbled to no one in particular.

"I understand Minister, we just have one more cell to see and then we are done." The warden said from beside him. "I have some Fire Whiskey and hot cocoa waiting for us back in my office as soon as we are done. I believe it was laid down by my Great Grandfather over 100 years ago, and is quite good."

Fudge perked up at the thought of such a vintage bottle. "Well we better get this done then, who do we have left?"

"Just Sirius Black," the warden replied. "He is a curious case, as the Dementors seem to have little effect on him." Fudge hummed his response, not really listening to the short, balding man.

When they reached the cell, they found Black lounging on his bed as if he hadn't a care in the world. "Afternoon Fudge," Black said, not looking at the cell door. Fudge just stood there in shock at seeing just how lucid Black was. Every other prisoner they had seen was a raving lunatic by now, but Black looked normal. Black shifted his gaze to the door and smiled at Fudge's confusion. "If you are done with your paper," Black said, obviously noticing the Daily Prophet under Fudge's arm. "Would you mind leaving it for me? I miss doing the crosswords."

Not really thinking about it and wanting to get away from Black, the depressing thoughts caused by the Dementors, and more importantly, to the whiskey, he took the paper from under his arm and threw it into Black's cell. Turning on his heel, he walked away without another look at Black.


	7. A New School

Ch. 7 A New School

Hermione opened her eyes and let out a groan of pain as she sat up from her prone position on the ground. The portkey deposited the group on a grass covered field blanketed with mountain flowers in full bloom. Looking around, she was thankful that she had not been the only one to land on her bum, as both her parents and Harry were picking themselves up off the ground while rubbing various sore spots of their body's.

"I do apologize," Madam Maxime told the group, towering above the group on the ground, a concerned frown marring her face. "Portkeys take some getting used to, and the important part is to keep your knees bent when you land." When Hermione had regained her feet, she began to brush herself off muttering to herself about magical forms of transportation, and had not noticed that both her parents and Harry had gone silent.

"Hermione," Harry whispered softly after a few moments. "Have you ever seen anything so magnificent?" Not knowing what he was talking about, she looked up and felt her breath leave and her eyes bulge out of her skull at the sight before her.

Harry was right, the school was gorgeous. Where Hogwarts resembled an ancient castle straight out of a fairy tale, Beauxbatons was an elegant Chateau that would have fit perfectly in one of Dumas's novels of Counts and Kings. "Welcome to Beauxbatons Academy of Magic," Madam Maxime grandly proclaimed, waving her large hand towards the massive wrought iron gates, flanked by white marble pillars creating an opening in the ivy covered wall that the seemed to surround whole grounds. Madam Maxime motioned the group forward, leading the way onto the Beauxbatons grounds while giving a brief history of the school. "Beauxbatons was founded about 750 years ago by two of the most renowned magical users in Europe, Nicole Arcanite and Maurice Flambant. In their youth they had studied at Hogwarts, and after experienceing the success the Hogwarts Four were having, decided to build a school of their own in order to allow the witches and wizards on the continent learn and have a place of safety."

As Madam Maxime told the group the history of the school and its early years, Hermione was hard pressed to pay attention as the surrounding grounds captivated her. A few years ago, her parents had taken her to Versailles, where they had toured the Water Gardens and its multitude of fountains and statues. That elegant palace paled in comparison to what was before her. "Beauxbatons ground's has some of the most intricately charmed magical fountains in the entire world," Madam Maxime explained, noticing the awed looks of her guests as they passed a fountain that had water sprouts literally dancing in the circular pool. They passed another large oval fountain that shot a jet of water that skipped across the pool of water, splitting off into multiple streams when it hit the water, with each stream changing colors every time it hit the water. They were led down a cobblestone path between flowerbeds filled with beautiful flowers that spanned the entire color spectrum. "The flower beds and walking paths," Madam Maxime continued, "are maintained by our groundskeeper, who earned his Doctorate in Botany along with his Mastery in Enchanting. He spends his time creating new fountains and flower arrangements, so each year it seems like a whole new garden."

After walking past more fountains and colorful flower beds, the group arrived at the school itself. Hermione gazed up at the white marble façade of Beauxbatons, admiring the intricate patterns carved into the colorful marble. "This is not the original building," Madam Maxime explained. "The original Beauxbatons Palace was similar to Hogwarts, but it was razed by a group of wizards who claimed to follow Robespierre during the Terror. They claimed the school was supporting the Pure-Blood controlled magical government and not allowing the common people to attend. After the revolution, the school was rebuilt in the style of the grand chateaus of the time."

Madam Maxime pushed open the great oak front doors, revealing a long entrance hall with a high vaulted ceiling illuminated by floating crystal chandeliers, bathing the room in soft white light. The small party walked between the massive marble pillars that bordered the main walkway, tiled in white and blue, barring the Beauxbatons crest inlaid in gold leaf. Standing in the middle of the lavish hall was a group of three adults of varying age who Hermione assumed to be professors.

Hermione's suspicions were confirmed by Madam Maxime. "Allow me to introduce you to three of our Professors. The first is our Deputy Headmistress and Arithmancy Teacher, Julia Badon." The older woman closest to the group tilted her head, an open smile on her face. Hermione couldn't help but compare the professor to her Hogwarts counterpart, and noticed that both women bore a slight resemblance to each other. Both had their greying hair in a tight bun and were quite tall with a willowy frame. But where Professor McGonagall's face always bore a stern expression, promising rule breakers quick discipline, Professor Badon's face was open and smiling, with laugh lines around her twinkling eyes.

"Next to Professor Badon, is our Charms Professor Thomas Morrel." The indicated professor tilted his bald head, with the same stern expression Hermione expected to see on Professor McGonagall. The Charms Professor was an older gentleman, slightly shorter than her father with a round belly. "Finally, we have Professor Marie Pasture, our Potions Mistress." Hermione immediately liked Professor Pasture. She was a young woman with shoulder length blond hair tied back in a loose pony tail with smiling blue eyes and a curved figure.

The name sounded familiar to Hermione but to her surprise, it was Harry who asked her question first. "Are you related to Louis Pasture," he asked.

The woman beamed at him. "He was my great great grandfather on my father's side."

"Professor Pasture was the first witch in her family, and the youngest potion mistress in all of Europe." Madam Maxime praised, causing Hermione to openly gape at the woman who was now sporting rosy cheeks and rubbing the back of her long neck. Hermione couldn't help but admire the woman before her. Not only was she an intelligent woman, but a muggleborn, just like her, who had accomplished amazing things in such a short time. Needless to say, Hermione had a new hero.

"These three have agreed to give your evaluation. This is a routine evaluation that we give all possible transfer students. It is not so much to weed out students, but to asses where they are in their education and if they need any help catching up in certain subjects."

Hermione immediately began to panic. How could they ask her to take a test with no prior warning or time to study? It was first year all over again, when before the sorting, the rumor was that she was going to be given a test. She began running through everything she could remember from her last two years, muttering spells under her breath, and knew she was working herself into a panic attack, but she couldn't help it.

She felt a strong hand on her shoulder and looked up to her father's supportive eyes. "It will be alright princess," he said. "I'm sure it won't be too bad, and you know the information backwards to forwards."

Harry was quick to agree with her father, copying his motion of putting a hand on her opposite shoulder. "He's right Mione, you could probably take the test for third year and score perfect."

"This is not a pass or a fail test Miss Granger," Professor Badon told her. "We have never refused a transfer student because of these tests."

Hermione could feel herself calming down, but she was still anxious to prove herself to her new teachers. "While you two are evaluated, I will take your parents to my office and we can discuss other topics." Nodding in acceptance, the three professors led Harry and Hermione off further into the entrance hall, climbing a grand staircase that split half way up leading down two hallways.

As they walked, Hermione let the professors get a few paces ahead of her and Harry. Noticing her slowed pace, Harry raised a questioning eyebrow. "Harry," Hermione said while wringing her hands and biting her bottom lip. "I want you to promise me something," She smiled slightly when he immediately agreed. "I want you to promise me you will do your best." Harry opened his mouth to say something, but Hermione just kept on talking. "I know you're smart Harry, and for some reason, you have been holding yourself back. But this is a new start for both of us, and I just want you to do your best."

"It's not that easy Hermione," Harry whispered, looking down at his feet. He was silent for a moment as he arranged his thoughts. "All through primary school I wasn't allowed to get good grades, and if I did do well, it resulted in punishment. It just became easier to not try, and skirt by with the bare minimum." Harry swallowed and ran his hand through his hair, messing it up even more. "Then when I came to Hogwarts and was thrust into the spotlight, I wanted to do everything I could to not stand out and just blend in, as it is how I learned to survive the first ten years of my life. I grew to hate all kinds of attention, because nothing good has ever come from drawing attention to myself." Hermione nodded in understanding. Harry was already in the spotlight for something he could barely remember, and she knew how uncomfortable that made him. With what she now knew about his home life, it finally made sense to her why he just tried to skate by.

In her mind, she came to a sharp realization. Her nagging him and Ron to always work wasn't helping matters. She needed to learn to curve some of her more bossy tendencies and try to relax more. In one of those rare moments of clarity, she came to realize that one of her faults was her desire to prove to everyone that she was, for lack of a better term, a 'know-it-all'. Looking back objectively, she could see why this caused her troubles with some of her classmates. "I understand Harry, and if you promise to always do your best, I will promise not to nag you as much to do your homework. Also, I need your help to control my over-eagerness. I don't want a repeat of first year where I wind up in the bathroom."

Harry flinched. "Ron never should have said what he said in the first place, and I should have said something to him about that instead of letting him just run his mouth."

"It's not your fault Harry, and besides, if I hadn't ended up in that bathroom, I probably wouldn't have been saved by my green eyed hero, and got a best friend." Hermione reached out and took Harry's hand, giving it a squeeze. "But I do need to try not to be so abrasive I think, but sometimes I can't help it and I will need you to help."

"You're not that bad Mione," Harry defended, smiling slightly. "I think you were just compensating for Ron's complete lack of motivation for all things educational." Harry looked down the hall and noticed the professors were a ways down. "We better hurry and catch up. But yes, I promise to always do my best from now on." Nodding, they hurried up the stairs after the teachers, and after taking the left fork, they were led to a classroom that looked like a classroom right out of Hermione's old Primary School.

"Like the Headmistress said, we have put together a short evaluation to see where you two are in your studies," Professor Pasture said from the front of the classroom. "We three will be going over what you learned in Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, and Defense. We will also give you a written test to evaluate your knowledge on theory for those classes, along with History and Astronomy, any questions? Good, let's get started."

-(=)-

Jane watched the children walk away with the three professors, an amused smile playing on her lips at her daughter's tendency to get over anxious. "I'm not sure my daughter will forgive you for not warning her about the evaluation," she told Madam Maxime. "She takes her studies and tests quite seriously."

Madam Maxime nodded, rubbing her massive chin. "I probably should have warned her ahead of time, but honestly I forgot about it, as we haven't had a transfer student in a few years."

"I'm sure she will be fine," Hugh said from beside Jane, waving his hand. "Harry will keep her calm. I've noticed she has mellowed out a tad over the last two years, and I suspect that young man has helped with that." Jane nodded, having noticed the same thing.

"Shall we go to my office and talk?" Madam Maxime invited, smiling invitingly at the Grangers.

Nodding, Hugh and Jane followed the tall woman the same way the kids had gone, but instead of taking the left fork, they took the right down a long hallway lined with tall windows offering views of the surrounding mountains and grounds. After a short walk, they arrived at a pair of double French doors made of clear glass that opened to a large well-appointed office. Madam Maxime walked around the solid oak desk and took her seat in her chair, motioning for the Grangers to sit.

"Would you care for something to drink?" Madam Maxime offered. Both Hugh and Jane accepted and asked for tea, causing a small creature with large ears and bulbous eyes to pop into the office with a tea service. "Thank you Cossy," Madam Maxime said to the small creature. She must have noticed Jane and Hugh's wide-eyed expression, for she explained. "Cossy is a House Elf and she works for the school. They are a symbiotic creature that lives off a wizard's ambient magic, and who love to take care of people." When everyone had their tea the way they liked it, two sugars and no cream for Jane, Madam Maxime got down to business. "Now, before we get to your specific concerns you mentioned in your letter, let's get the financial part out of the way," Madam Maxime began, and Jane saw her husband nod in agreement as he was always the one who dealt with money in the family. "You will be happy to know that the fees for Beauxbatons will be substantially less for you than at Hogwarts." That surprised Jane, as she assumed the fees would be the same or at least greater being that they were from a different country.

"I see you are surprised by that. Would it surprise you then, if I tell you that as a first generation witch, you pay a much higher tuition for Hogwarts than say, Mister Potter, who's Hogwarts fees are probably a third of your daughters." Jane had to admit from what she had learned about how things work in Wizarding England that she wasn't the least bit surprised. "At Beauxbatons, we do not have such a price discrepancy. Oh, like all Private Schools, we do have a small break for 'Legacy' students, but your fees will still be far less here."

Money never was a problem for the Grangers, as they had saved up for years for Hermione's schooling to ensure that she was able to attend the best schools, and both of them made a good living owning their own practice, but it was nice to know that they could save some money and maybe put it towards Hermione's, and now Harry's, college fund. "Now, as to some of your more unique concerns," Madam Maxime pulled a piece of paper out of her desk and looked it over. "I have made a list of some of the concerns you had in your letter, in order to address them all." Jane smiled at finding another person who loved lists. "First, I think your biggest concern is as you say 'being kept in the loop', and from what your children said about their Hogwarts experience, I can understand your concern. Like I mentioned earlier, ALL parents are allowed to visit the school to discuss their child's education whenever they wish. We do ask that you make an appointment if possible first, but understand that sometimes that is not possible. Parents are given portkeys that will bring them right to the gate, much like this morning. Each is registered with the French Ministry of Magic so they bypass the normal border wards, and can only be used by you or your children."

"That is reassuring," Jane told the Headmistress. "One of our biggest complaints was the inability to actually see the school we paid so much for. I think we've only talked to one teacher, and that was when they were trying to recruit Hermione."

Madam Maxime nodded sadly. "Oui, I have heard that before. The British seem to take the approach of separating the first generation witches and wizards from their non-magical roots as much as possible. This has been done in many cultures over the years, and has never turned out well. Here, we try to make it so our students can live in both worlds if they wish. This leads into your next concern I believe. Unlike Hogwarts, we offer non-magical classes. Each student has a block of three classes with a single Professor who teaches them non-magical subjects such as Math, English, and Science."

"How in-depth do they go?" Her husband asked. "Can they sit their GCSE or their A-Levels?"

"They will be prepared in their core subjects for the GCSE tests, but would have to self-study for other subjects or their A-Levels. The Ministry does offer services to prepare transcripts for universities and recommend tutors for higher qualifications." Hugh seemed satisfied with that answer, as he nodded and settled back in his chair.

"I think the next source of concern was safety. I would like to assure you that Beauxbatons is the safest school in Europe, but I doubt you will just take my word for it as the same line was fed to you about Hogwarts." Jane let out a disgruntled grunt at the Headmistress's accuracy. "What I can say is that every three Years, Beauxbatons goes through a rigorous review by the International Confederation of Wizards Educational Office, where they asses both our teaching practices and our safety precautions. Our last evaluation just occurred last year and we received the highest grade, and their recommendations for changes have already been implemented." Madam Maxime gave the pair a half smile. "I can also guarantee that we have never hired a possessed teacher, and there is no giant snake hiding under our school."

"What about bullies?" Jane asked, remembering some of the stories Hermione and Harry had told about both students and teachers.

"We have a zero tolerance for any type of bullying. Any type of racist comment, or physical or verbal assault, is dealt with quite severely. If a professor was ever discovered doing the things I've heard a certain Hogwarts Potion master does, he would be terminated immediately and blackballed, as that behavior is unacceptable." Jane glanced at her husband meeting his eyes, and he gave her the smallest of nods, indicating he was satisfied with the Headmistress's answers. Of course, they had heard much the same things from Hogwarts, and Jane was weary of trusting the Headmistress too far, but nothing they had seen so far indicated anything less than Beauxbatons being an exceptional boarding school.

-(=)-

A few hours later, Madam Maxime returned to her office after taking the Grangers and Mister Potter back to Nice. After the exams, they had toured around more of the school, seeing more classrooms, the dining hall, the dormitories, and the most popular part, the Library. Both Granger women were quite pleased with the Potions Lab, and after hearing a description of the Hogwarts lab, Olympe understood why. 'Whose bright idea was it to brew potions in a dungeon classroom with no proper ventilation,' she thought. When Marie heard about the potions lab at Hogwarts, she went off on a wonderful rant about idiots not taking proper precautions with noxious fumes. When they found the library, they had to practically drag Miss Granger out of the library when it was time to leave. Entering her office, she noticed her senior staff already present and sitting, sipping glasses of wine.

Olympe took her seat and accepted the offered glass of rose wine from Marie, taking a sip and enjoying the sweet fruity taste. "So what do you think of our two prospects?" she asked the group.

"Overall, their education is what one would expect from a Hogwarts student." Her deputy began, referring to her notes. "Miss Granger, though admittedly far ahead of her Hogwarts peers, is slightly ahead of her age group in most classes, while Mister Potter is slightly behind in most of his classes for his year group."

"What classes are they the furthest behind in?" Olympe asked.

"They are horribly behind in Potions," her potion mistress complained. "Snape hasn't taught them a damn thing. If I were to guess, he probably just leaves the potion's recipe on the board and tells them to brew it. They had no idea about the reaction tables or why different cuts matter. They can both follow a recipe just fine, but that is about it."

"Mister Potter's practical work is good for both Charms and Transfiguration," Thomas Morrel added. "I estimate he is only behind a half year for those classes, while his theory is only a little further behind. Both their Defense is lacking, and their history knowledge is limited to goblin rebellions in England."

Madam Maxime nodded, leaning back in her chair. She had heard from her ICW contacts that standards had slipped at Hogwarts, but she hadn't realized it had fallen so far. It had been years since the British Ministry of Magic had allowed the ICW Educational Office to evaluate Hogwarts, and it only made her more curious as to why they were pushing so hard to reestablish the Twi-Wizard Tournament. Surely they knew how far behind the rest of the world they were? "So what is your over-all impression?"

"Miss Granger will be a wonderful addition to our school," Marie commented. "She is a bright young woman with a strong drive and a brain like a sponge. When I asked her about the reaction chart and she didn't know what that was, I could tell she was itching to run to the library and read everything about it. I think she will give Miss Floret a run for her money this year for top spot."

Julia nodded in agreement. "Mr. Potter will also be a good addition, and not just for the prestige that comes with his name. I must admit, I was expecting the lad to balk at having to take the entrance exams like every other student, but he seemed actually pleased to have to take them. The boy has a lot of magical potential that with proper teaching and motivation can be brought out. He admitted that he hasn't been the best of students in the past, and I get the impression there is a lot more to his story than we are hearing." Madam Maxime knew more of his story from the Grangers than she had shared with her staff, specifically how they came to be Harry's guardians, but as that was private, she didn't share it with her staff. "I think we can expect great things from both of them."

"They will both need a little help catching up," Thomas added in his normal gruff voice.

Madam Maxime nodded. "I agree, and I have already arranged to meet with the Grangers in Paris three days from now, and I will see if Mister Giomby, Miss Floret, and their parents are free to join us."


End file.
